


To Love a Rogue

by DragonDreads (cjbage)



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Capital Punishment, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Minor Character Death, Non-Canon Relationship, Non-Graphic Violence, Oral Sex, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Out of Character, Semi-Public Sex, Sleep Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-15
Updated: 2015-08-12
Packaged: 2018-03-17 22:44:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 28
Words: 138,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3546524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cjbage/pseuds/DragonDreads
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Several years have passed since the end of the Reaper War. Shepard is one of the last remaining Spectres. Stumbling into a plot that could have serious consequences to the continued galactic peace that has reigned since she destroyed the Reapers,  will she be able to stop it?</p><p>She has to also contend with the interference of her late husband's son,  Kolyat,  who thinks it's time she moves on with her life. He asks for help from his friend Feron, another Drell,  to help Shepard over her feelings of tu fira by talking with her. Feron has something else in mind,  and with a little help from Liara,  he might just have his wish come true.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Standard Disclaimer: Bioware owns all of the Mass Effect Universe, including but not limited to the recognizable characters. Any original characters are my own. There is no monetary gain from this work. All I am doing is playing around with their universe.
> 
> UPDATE: 10/27/2016 This story has been picked up to be beta'd to fix the numerous grammatical and sentence structural errors so this story will be much easier to read :) A huge thank you to Kate_Shepard for doing so. Please view her work at https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kate_Shepard/pseuds/Kate_Shepard and if you like the stories give her much deserved kudos. Thanks again everyone.

* * *

 

 

Shepard came awake slowly in a pitch black room. No light penetrated from the windows or beneath doors. She saw nothing to tell her where she was. Her head was pounding from a severe hangover, her mouth was dry, and her breath probably smelled like something had crawled inside her mouth and died there.

She started to take account of where she was. The firmness of the mattress told her the bed she was in was not her own. The soft bubbling of the tiny aquarium she had in her bedroom was absent, as was the sound of Mr. Squeakers running on his wheel. _'Where the hell am I?'_ She closed her eyes to try to think, try to remember. The sound of electronics and neighbors common to her apartment was missing as well. She did hear breathing other than her own which caused her eyes to fly open and her breath to catch in her throat.

That was when she realized she was naked and not only her head was hurting but other parts of her body were aching as well. _'Oh ... no no no. This can't be happening. Please tell me I didn't do what I think I did.'_ She moved her hand carefully down her body, between her legs, and felt the stickiness of spent semen now dry on her inner thighs.

She tried to muffle the choked sob that struggled to be let out. Tears of shame and sadness began to form in her eyes. Not only had she brought shame on Thane's memory, but she had also done so drunkenly and without using protection. How could she have been so stupid? She didn't even remember who it was.

 _'Damn it. I have to get out of here.'_ As carefully as she could, she inched her way to the edge of the bed, pulled back the covers, and activated her omni tool. It cast a soft orange glow, illuminating part of the room. She didn't look to see who was in bed with her but tried quickly and quietly to find her clothes. She saw a line of scattered clothing in the middle of the floor leading from the bed to what she thought was the door.

She got up and hurriedly walked to the clothes. She gathered her own upwithout looking closely at the other ones. She had to find them all, get to a bathroom to try and wash, and then get the hell out of here before he woke up. Where the hell were her shoes? Her underwear? She didn't realize she was making noise in her rush to find her garments, that her breath was coming out in sobs.

 

* * *

 

The other person's breathing had changed. He’d awoken the moment she had moved in the bed. He could see perfectly well in the pitch blackness of the room ~~,~~ but the light from her omni tool highlighted her exact location. He watched as the tears flowed down her face, her hand brushing them away as she found bits and pieces of what she was wearing last night. He drew in a slow breath and closed his eyes, hating to see the hurt in her own. It had been too soon.

They had both been drinking last evening, though he didn't have anywhere near the amount she had. He should have denied her pleas, should have denied himself her kisses. But to have her there in his arms, her hands moving on his body…stripping the leathers from him with sure hands, nimble fingers... urging—no, demanding—him to move harder, faster, thrust deeper…to hear those sweet lips crying out his name as he thrust himself into her wet willing body, her tight passage clenching around his cock when she reached her climax…her groan and sigh as he emptied himself inside her, her own name and whispered words of love falling from his own lips had been too much to resist. He had wanted her, had waited for her, for so long.

The memory replayed in his mind as he continued to lie there and listen to her. He recalled the moment he had received the call from Kolyat asking for his help, stating that he was getting more worried about Shepard as time had passed and she was still mourning Thane's loss. He had agreed to come and try to help even though he knew it was a risk.

The feelings he had for her since his rescue had grown even though he knew she was in love with another. He couldn't stop the memories or the feelings growing within his heart for her. He stayed away as best he could, watching her as she came to visit Liara on the ship, remaining in the video room. He knew she always came there to watch the vids that Liara had collected hoping to find clues for her missions. She never failed to stop and talk to him, sitting on the couch near him while she asked how he was if everything was going okay. How he treasured those memories: the smiles she gave him, even the slight touch of her hand on his arm; the handshakes she gave, her warm slightly calloused hand in his cool, scaled, scarred one.

Then last night, when the two drell entered the bar, the same one she had gone to every anniversary of Thane's death and also the day the war against the Reapers had ended, things changed. The other bar-goers thought she was there to celebrate her victory over the enemy just like before. But her friends knew better. It was to mourn the loss of her husband, to mourn the fact that she was alive and not with him on Kalahira’s shores.

Kolyat sat and talked with her. He knew she was tu-fira, lost in another. He was trying to help her get over his father's death. Nothing he did or said to her seemed to help even after all this time. Finally, Kolyat approached him at the bar and asked him to try to do something, anything, to try to get her over Thane so she could start to live again. Kolyat had no idea just what he was asking of him.

 

* * *

 

"Damn it Feron, she isn't listening. She still won't let him go. She is going to waste her life, just like he did, living on memories. She is human and I know their memory is not like ours. But she's being so damned stubborn. I told her he wouldn't have wanted her to do this, to be like this. She finally told me to go fuck myself and started to drink even more," Kolyat told him, his frustration with Shepard obvious.

"What is it you want me to do exactly? If she isn't ready, then she isn't ready, Kolyat." Feron took a drink and sat his glass back down on the counter, turning to watch the booth where Shepard sat alone. He watched as several males approached her and then either walked away or tried to sit down. He did chuckle when he heard her yell at the male to get the fuck away from her. One of the guards would usually hurry over and remove the person. By now they knew who she let sit and who she didn't.

"I don't know, Feron. There has to be something. I talked to all of her close crew that I knew from Father's memorial service. Garrus tried to set her up with a Turian he knew. She threw the poor guy through a window when he propositioned her; then she beat the hell out of Garrus. He refused to set her up on a date again. Joker told me he liked his balls attached to his body and no way in hell was he going to even think about it. Tali told me to talk with Liara, who then told me to give her time, that almost three years was nothing. Well, of course, to an asari three years is nothing, but to us it is. You're my last hope for help. Please just try."

Feron sighed. This was going to be one of the more difficult things he ever tried to do. He didn’t know how to help her without making a fool of himself. He was also pretty sure Kolyat had no clue about his feelings for Shepard. He grabbed his glass, asked for a refill, and then headed over to the table. Sliding into the seat opposite her, he put down his glass and waited for her to look up from her omni tool and acknowledge him.

 When she didn't look up, he cleared his throat. "Shep, you just going to sit there and ignore me?"

"Yes. I know he sent you over here. I'm fine. Leave me be," Shepard said to him, taking another drink before refilling her glass from the partially empty bottle sitting on the table. He downed his drink and poured some from the bottle into his glass. She raised an eyebrow at his action but didn't say anything. They stayed like that for quite a while, both of them just drinking. For every one of his glasses he emptied, she must have had three. The bottle started to empty out quickly.

"Shep, what are you looking at on your omni tool?" Feron finally asked her, unable to sit there and only look at her. He was starting to fantasize and needed to distract himself from staring at her lips and wondering how soft or firm they were, how they would feel pressed against his own.

She looked up and gave him a very slight lifting of the corner of her mouth. He thought she was trying to smile but it didn't quite make it. "Just holos from a few years ago."

He grunted and took another drink. "Mind if I take a look too?" At her nod, he got up and moved to her side of the table. She scooted over a little more to give him room. They sat like that looking at the holos with him asking her questions and her giving short answers. Neither one noticed Kolyat smile and slip from his seat at the bar where he was watching them and leave.

She continued to drink but he slowed down and nursed the one he had in his hand. Drell rarely drank; it was too easy for them to slip into memories when inebriated and that was the last thing he wanted to do while sitting so close to her. Suddenly, she swayed a bit in her seat."Hey, the bottle is empty, gimme another one. You wanna get out of here? Go somewhere else? Imma kinda hungry." The words were slurring. He thought she had enough for the night.

When they left, she was stumbling slightly and he held onto her to keep her from falling. At the terminal, he called for a sky cab but things started to go downhill when they sat down. He was getting ready to input the address for her apartment when she leaned into him, running her hand against his thigh. He ignored it, thinking it was an accident until she did it again. "Shep? Are you alright?" he asked.

She looked up at him, then climbed into his lap, straddling him. He swallowed hard as she licked her lips and then kissed him. Her lips were firm against his, warm and slightly moist. Her tongue darted out, licking his lips, and when he parted them on a groan, she slipped her tongue inside his mouth. It slid against his rougher one, curling and stroking. He grabbed her hips to hold her still when she started to grind into him. "Shep, we need to stop. You've been drinking."

"Feron, please. I know you like my kisses; I can feel you wanting me. I need this, I want it, I want you." She ground hard against his erection, causing him to let out a low groan and thrust up against her.

"Gods forgive me but I want you so much," he whispered to her. She started kissing him again, her hands moving to stroke his head and down his frills with just the right amount of pressure to make him groan and shiver against her. He felt himself hardening even more from the feeling of her hands and mouth against his neck. It was even better than he imagined.

He stopped her long enough to run his omni tool under the scanner, sending the address for the apartment that Liara had on the Citadel.

 

* * *

 

Now, here he was after the most incredible night he’d ever experienced, listening to the woman he had loved for so long, sob out her grief at her supposed betrayal of her dead lover. He swallowed and drew on his courage,then carefully stood up and made his way near her.

He sighed and she stilled, realizing he was behind her.

"Shep, it's all right. You don't need to cry. Please don't leave," Feron said quietly in the silence of the room. He watched as she gave a jerk and turned toward him, the glow of the omni tool casting his multi-hued scales in varying shades of orange and yellow.

"Feron? What the hell is going on here? What did you do? How could you have done this to me?" she cried out, throwing her clothes on the floor. She flung herself at him, trying to hit him in the beginning of her anger, her tears blinding her.

"Shep, damn it, calm down. Don't you remember anything? The bar, anything that happened? The way you straddled me, kissed me?" He grabbed her hands to keep from hitting him. "Listen to me. Think, damn it. I would never hurt you, never use you against your will or take advantage of you. Please, just try and remember." He drew her into him, holding her tightly against his body. Her hands were beating against his shoulders but with little to no force. Her gut-wrenching sobbing had increased. He held her there until her crying started to subside and her breaths coming in ragged shudders started to calm. He picked her up bridal style and carried her back to bed, carefully and gently placing her in the middle, then laid down beside her. He held her closely and listened as the crying finally stopped and her breathing evened out. She had fallen back to sleep.

He hoped the cry she finally had was cleansing, washing away the need to hold onto the past and to try to move ahead into a future, one he sincerely hoped was with him. Now, he just had to pray that when she woke up again, she wouldn't kill him outright.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDITED 10/30/2016 - Fixed grammar issues, sentence structure and adjusted a few things to make Feron seem less whiny. Thanks to Kate_Shepard for beta-reading this story and helping to make it so much better.

* * *

She woke to the smell of coffee and what she swore was bacon, eggs, and peppers. As she laid there, the memories of the night before flooded her mind. She remembered some of it now, from the time she woke the previous morning unable to fully remember the texture of Thane's scales against her skin, the smell of his unique scent, or the taste of him on her tongue, to when she had woken up beside Feron.

He had been fading from her human mind; only the holos and recordings she had made of them together kept the memories alive. A scent or sound would trigger the flashes of memory, but she had railed at her frail human mind.She wished she had an eidetic memory like the drell did or even had a grey box like Kasumi's installed before she had lost Thane, but they were illegal, and the Alliance would have had an even bigger fit over it than what they already did everything that she had done since she had awoken on the Cerberus lab table.

She had been feeling so lonely, so sad, for the last two years since the war had ended with the run to the beam and that stupid, lying Starchild. She still thought that was actually Harbinger messing with her mind, telling her that if she chose destruction, she would also be destroying all of the synthetics, including herself. Then, he tried to weasel and trick her to pick synthesis, saying that to merge both synthetic and organic was the best thing to do. Hell, that was what a Reaper was.She knew it. EDI had told her so back on the Collector Base. The Reaper embryo was a construct, both organic and synthetic, created using the combined genetic material of thousands of murdered humans. In essence, it wanted her to turn everyone into Reapers, just as they were already doing when they weren't destroying them outright.

She sighed and brought her mind back to the present and the circumstances that led her to be in Feron's bed, naked and still feeling the ache between her legs from being with him last night. Those memories were fuzzy from the alcohol that she had consumed. Most likely, that was what got her into this mess, to begin with. What was she going to do? What was she going to say to him?

She also needed to find the bathroom, urgently. The room was now fairly well lit, the windows no longer blacked out to give them a night cycle. She looked around and found her clothes neatly folded and placed on a chair alongside what looked like a towel and a nightshirt draped across the arm of it. She quickly got up and grabbed the towel and wrapped it around her, then grabbed the shirt. She peeked into doors, finding a fairly empty closet with only a couple of sets of drell leathers inside of it and, thankfully, a small bathroom. She hurriedly took a shower, doing nothing more than rinsing herself off since she couldn't find any soap or shampoo in the room. Putting on the nightshirt, she headed back out. She really didn't want to put on dirty undies again, and the shirt came down to a few inches above her knees, so she left it. She took a deep breath and let it out before exiting the room and heading toward the smell of food.

He had his back to her, standing at the stove cooking a late breakfast. She took a few minutes to observe him objectively. He only had pants on, so she got quite an eyeful. His body was lean and muscular as were all of the male drell she had ever met. 'Taller than Thane but still shorter than Kolyat is,' she thought.

His scales were rainbow-colored, and his stripe pattern appeared to be mainly dark green and blue. She had to admit that he was quite handsome. She continued scrutinizing him, seeing the crisscrossing pattern of scars on his back and arms from the beatings and torture he had endured when he was a prisoner of the old Shadow Broker. She looked closer and saw that there were fresh scores down his back, and some of his scales were a bit damaged. She bit her lip, knowing she had done that to him. She must have been out of control last night. She had never hurt Thane that way. What must he think of her?

"Are you going to stand there and stare at me all day or are you going to sit down and have some food while it's still hot?" The suddenness of his voice caused her to jump.

She blushed and stammered out an apology. 'Damn, this is going to be awkward.' "Feron, I ..."

He interrupted her before she could say anything more, "Eat first, then we will talk. You didn't have anything last night other than alcohol." They were quiet after that; the only sounds were the utensils hitting their plates or the clink of glasses on the table. When they finished, he gathered up the plates and put them in the auto washer.

He gestured for them to go into the sitting area, and she followed him in, trying to think about what to say to him. She still didn't fully remember everything that happened, but enough had resurfaced for her to know that she was a willing participant, the instigator of the whole mess if she was to be truthful with herself. He sat on a chair, and she sat on the end of the couch facing him. When all he did was stare at her, she started to bite her lip. As he leaned back in the chair, he asked her, "How much of last night do you remember?"

"Honestly, not much. Going to the bar, drinking, yelling at a couple of people. I remember Kolyat and talking with you, but after that things are... well, really fuzzy," she told him truthfully. "I get flashes of a cab, a door. Then, mostly a dark room until I woke up this morning and, well, I'm sure you remember how I acted." She was rubbing her head as if it had started to hurt her again. Her brow furrowed with the effort to bring more of the memories to the surface.

"Hmm, well, as you can imagine, more than that happened. After we started to talk at the bar, you started to drink even more heavily than you had been. When I sat down, there was about one-quarter of the bottle already gone; you finished off most of it yourself. I had more than I should have. I freely admit to it. When the bottle was empty, you asked for another, then asked if I wanted to leave with you. I thought it was best to get you out of there, get you to your apartment so you could sleep it off." He let out a sigh, dreading what was coming next. "What happened next, I should have been more resistant to but... when we got into the cab, you came onto me. I ignored it until you climbed into my lap and proceeded to kiss me until I could barely think."

He stood up and paced a bit, looking at her and trying to find the right words to say next, ones that wouldn't hurt her. He was worried about telling her about how much he cared for her. "I told you we needed to stop; granted, I didn't try very hard. I won't lie to you. I enjoyed what we were doing and wanted more. You told me you wanted me… and don't look at me like that," he said to her, noticing the look that came into her eyes."It was my name you said, not his. It was to me you were talking to, not some memory." His voice had become rougher, harsher than what he had originally meant it to. She dropped her eyes as she quickly looked away, ashamed the thought had come into her mind. She should have known better.

He sat down in the chair facing her again."Look, I'm not going to tell you that I didn't want it to happen. I won't ever regret it. I need to know how you are feeling about this. You keep everything bottled up, won't let anyone help you. Kolyat is worried about you. He sees you doing the same thing Thane did: letting life pass you by to live on memories of a love lost too soon. He sees you drowning yourself in alcohol, pushing everyone away including him. You are all he has left. His aunt and uncle refuse to speak to him since he left Kahje. He feels as if he is slowly losing you as well."

"I don't know what I feel right now, Feron. Horrified with myself that I lost control. I shamed myself, Thane's memory, and you. I hurt you, too.I saw the marks I left on your back." She glanced up at him to see him cast a smirk her way.

“Those are the only marks on my body I don't mind having, so don't worry about that. You didn't hurt me."

"I don't remember it, Feron. I don't know if I ever will. Our memories work much different than yours." She tucked her feet under her on the couch. "Kolyat is right, though. I know I have been drinking too much. It just makes the ache fuzzy and bearable. I'm losing him, Feron. Each day, my memories fade more and more, and I am scared of forgetting him." She closed her eyes as a single tear slowly made its way down her cheek. Feron got up from the chair and joined her on the couch where he tentatively put his arms around her and pulled her closer.

"He'll never be truly forgotten, Shep. He will always be in your heart, a part of your soul, even if you move on with your life. I didn't know him all that well. We spoke only when you came on board Liara's ship before the whole Alliance fuck up that caused you to be separated from him, but his faith was strong. I know he loved you and will be watching over you. I think Kolyat is right in that you shouldn't be living in memories. Trust me; it is too easy to lose yourself in them and sometimes it is necessary. But you should never forget that you are still alive." He pulled her unresisting body into his lap and just held her there with one arm wrapped around her, holding her close, and the other running up and down her back in what he hoped was a soothing motion. They sat like that for a few more minutes before she started to move. He let her up and she headed toward the bedroom, presumably to put her clothes back on.

When she came out, she had a look of disgust on her face. The clothing smelled of alcohol and was something to wear out at night to a club or bar, not during the day. He grinned at her, "Sorry, but I don't keep clothes here for women besides the few sets that Liara has in her room. I doubt if she would mind if you wanted to try those on, probably be better than that." She frowned at him and cocked her hip. "Why didn't you tell me that before I put this stuff back on? Although, I should have known considering that shirt I had on was one Liara had from the first Normandy."

He laughed and pointed to the other room's door. She headed in to see if Liara had something she could wear long enough to get to her own apartment and her own clothing. Feron headed into his room to grab a quick shower and dress. It seemed like she was going to let him live, at least. He just wished she would have let him hold her for a bit longer.

Shepard looked in Liara's closet and drew out one of the asari-style dresses. Not one of her usual everyday clothing choices but she didn't have much of a choice in the matter. It was a simple one, black and tan in color, and a bit out of date, which was probably why it was here in the closet and not on board the ship. She slipped out of her smelly dress and slid that one on. It fit well enough except in the bust area, but beggars can't be choosers. Now, she needed her shoes. She went back into Feron's room to look for them and came face to face with a naked Feron who had just come out of his shower.

They froze like the proverbial deer caught in the headlights.Her eyes skimmed over every inch of his bare body before she realized what she was doing and whirled around, yelling out an apology as she retreated out of the room. 'Oh God, this just keeps getting worse.' She went back to Liara's room and sat on a chair that was in the corner. 'Holy hell, the color variations are all over his body... He really is a rainbow.'

Feron stood there trying to get his body back under control. It had started to react to having Shepard in front of him staring at his unclothed body. If the situation between them was different, he would have followed her or pulled her back into his bed for several more hours. But she wasn't ready for that. He had to tell himself to take it slower no matter how much he wanted her again.

He found her still sitting in the chair in the other bedroom. "Hey, don't be like that. It's all right, not like we haven't seen each other naked before." He had tried for levity but it backfired. She turned red and buried her head in her hands. He sighed and dropped her shoes down next to the chair. "Here. I assume these were what you were actually looking for in my room." He turned and walked out. A few minutes later, she heard him start talking to someone.

"Hey, no, she's fine. She was a bit out of it, so I brought her back to Liara's apartment to sleep it off. She's in Liara's room right now. I'm sure she will be out in a bit if you want to talk with her. …I don't know; I guess she's all right. Maybe you should ask her that. Look, I know I said I would help you out by talking with her and all, but I don't think she wants me around. Maybe I should just go back to Liara's ship. It would be better to find someone else to talk with her. I get the feeling she doesn't really like me much, tolerates me maybe, but not much more. …No, she barely even looks at me." There was a pause in the conversation and she strained to hear what was said. "What do you mean? No, she was showing me holos.That's why I moved to sit beside her. …What do you think they were of, or should I say who? You know damn well who they were." She leaned against the wall, shamelessly eavesdropping on the one-way conversation. What he said about her not liking him gave her pause. She heard him moving around and scooted a bit further away from the door.

"Look man, I want to help, really. I just don't think I'm the right person. Yeah, of course, I lo...like her and hate to see her like this. She saved my damn life. I'd do just about anything for her." She heard him sigh and then string together several colorful human phrases of profanity. "All right, all right, I'll stay for a few days. NO, I said a few days, a week at the most and if things are the same, then I'm leaving. It won't matter how long I stay.If she isn't ready to let him go and find someone, then she isn't and nothing we say or do will matter anyway. Look, I have to go. When she comes out, I'll tell her you called. Talk with you later."

She heard him give out another sigh and then the sound of something crashing and breaking caused her to jump. She had just started out of the room when she heard him whisper, "How the hell am I going to make it a week around her? It's hard enough being in the same room when all I want is to be hers. I have to get out of here before I make a worse mess of things." She watched him clean up the cup he must have thrown against the wall and waited until she thought enough time had passed that he wouldn't realize she’d overheard him.

"Hey, what happened?" she asked him. He gave a slight start and then told her he dropped the cup by accident. He was ignoring the dent in the wall and the liquid that had dripped down onto the floor.

"Kolyat called me, wanted to know how you were. Maybe you should call him back; then I can take you back to your place or walk you down to the transit hub at least." Feron finished picking up the pieces of the broken cup without looking at her. He dumped them into the disposal on his way back to his room. He had just made it through the doorway when he heard her talking with Kolyat.

"Good afternoon, Kolyat. Feron said you called; I'm fine. I told you that before. …No, I'm still here but getting ready to go home now. …You did? Thanks for feeding him, I would have done it when I got home. …Dinner? I guess so. …What the hell do you mean you're inviting a friend? Kolyat, no, I don't want... I'm just not ready. …What do you mean it's too late, that you already invited him? Who the hell is he anyway? Is that the one I tossed through the window? I really don't want... no, but... all right, all right, I said. If it was anyone other than you pulling this shit I would kill them. You better be thankful you're family. What time and where? …No, I will meet you there. Don't you dare give him my address. I swear if anyone shows up, I'm shooting them."

Feron leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. Kolyat had sat her up on a date. He had to leave. He couldn't stay here and watch her dating other men. If she took one home, he would lose it. He was already feeling the gut-wrenching jealousy in his stomach, and it was only a blind date. Just thinking about her doing the things to another male's body that she did to him last night made him feel physically ill. He was fluctuating between wanting to grab her and make her his again—this time without the fog of alcohol clouding her memory—and finding the guy and beating the hell out of him so he couldn't date her.

"Kolyat, I think I forgot to mention it, but I have another Council mission coming up in a week. I'm gonna need for you to take care of the pets and all that for me until I get back. …Hmm, not sure. All I can say right now is they need a Spectre out in the Terminus. I told you that you should just move into the apartment. You spend more time there than you do at that closet you call your apartment anyway. …Eww, too much information there buddy." She started to laugh at whatever comments Kolyat was making to her on his end of the conversation. "All right, as soon as Feron is done doing whatever he is I will be heading out. Nope, he offered to walk me down to the transit terminal as I have no real idea where Liara's apartment is on the Citadel. Hell, I didn't even know she had one here. She always wanted to stay at my place when she was here. …God, will you stop talking about you males and your sexual exploits? If that was the case, I could see why she wanted to stay over at my place. I wouldn't want to have to hear that shit coming from the next room either. …No, it's bigger than your shoebox but smaller than my apartment. …In your dreams. There is no way in hell I'm giving up my hot tub to switch with you. I couldn't live in that tiny place. Don't know how you do it. At least I don't have to worry about cleaning scales from out of the inside of the tub. …Yeah, yeah, love you too. See you later tonight. Fair warning though, Kolyat, don't be setting me up on blind dates again. …No, not even if they are your friends from work. …Huh? No. Don't go there, Kolyat. I mean it. I do not need to get laid, so drop it. I'll see you later tonight, bye."

"You ready to go? I'll take you down to the terminal if you are." Feron said from behind her. She turned, noticing the flatness of his voice and the way he avoided her eyes. "Yeah, I think I have everything. Are you all right?" Shepard asked him. Her voice softened a bit when she saw him flinch from the hand she had raised toward him.

He gave a kind of snorting laugh.“Fine. Let’s go.”

Feron walked past her, heading for the door. She followed him out and waited as he locked up. He didn't look at her or speak to her as they walked down to the terminal near the Presidium. He waited with her until a cab arrived, then watched as she headed back to her apartment. He felt his heart slowly breaking. She didn't remember anything. She could barely look at him. He’d ruined any chance he would have had with her for just one stolen night of bliss.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the kudos and subscriptions. I appreciate the support for this story.
> 
> No Beta, so please forgive any mistakes.
> 
> UPDATE 10/30/2016 Beta read by Kate_Shepard. Thanks for helping me with this you're the greatest. Grammer, punctuation, spelling, and sentence structure improvements have been made. I hope you enjoy the update.

* * *

 

 

When she arrived back at her own apartment, she took a hot shower and sent the dress to the cleaners. She checked her messages and notified Liara that she would need to come see her the next week on business and then refilled her fish tank VI and checked on her hamster. She still had several more hours before she was to meet Kolyat and his "friend" at the restaurant.

She stripped down and got into the hot tub, trying to relax and remember what had happened the previous night. Her thoughts drifted to Thane and wondered just how hurt he was by her actions. She knew he was dead, but still, her love for him was strong. She never thought she would have survived the war and when she did, things changed. She left the Alliance and most of her crew members either went back to their homeworld or stayed in the military. That left her at loose ends with too much time on her hands to just sit and wallow in self-pity.

The Councilors had approached her and asked her to retain her status as Spectre and to take on light missions. They, too, could tell something was wrong. Kolyat had taken care of her as best he could when she had first gotten out of the hospital even though she told him to leave her be. He went back to his own apartment but kept coming around, eventually confiding in her his feelings of her being his only close family, his last link to his father. She backed off and accepted his help and they became fairly good friends.

Liara was the only one she really kept in contact with. Her willingness to help her out for minimal charge as the Shadow Broker helped immensely. She usually just asked for some information or a small recovery or a recon mission in exchange. Liara would come visit once in awhile with Feron in tow. Javik would rarely leave the Shadow Broker's ship; apparently he still didn't much care for this cycle and being the only Prothean alive made things difficult when he went to other worlds. Javik being Javik, he didn't pull his punches when it came to telling people to stop looking at him. He steered clear of the hanar homeworld, Kahje, as they tried to kidnap him once when he was there. Shepard and Liara had to break into the Primacy and steal him back. The Council was not amused.

Thinking about Liara and missions brought her back to the present set of circumstances and why she was in the hot tub slowly turning into a human prune. What the hell caused her to come onto Feron last night? It couldn't have just been because her memories were fading. That had been happening since she woke up in the hospital, angry at being alive. It couldn't have been the alcohol, either. She’d drunk plenty of times before then and never even thought of going home with someone. Was she just feeling lonely at the time and he just happened to be the one in the cab? She remembered telling others throughout the night to get lost, but not him. She even told Kolyat to leave her be.

She got out of the hot tub and wrapped a towel around herself. She liked Feron, always had. He had helped rescue and protect her body from the Collectors along with Liara and he paid a hefty price for going against the old Shadow Broker to do so. He would always be lounging in the vid room when she went to the Broker's ship, never bothered her, didn't mind talking for a few minutes, always seemed to be ready with a short funny story or a tidbit of gossip.

She sat on her bed and combed out her hair, dragging it from root to tip, as she thought about what he had said earlier, how he wanted to be hers. She had no idea he felt anything but a friendship toward her; he never acted like it. Granted, she would have turned him away if he had broached the subject. Just how long had he felt that way?

Was she really ready to move on with her life? Deep down, she knew Kolyat was right when he told her Thane wouldn't have wanted her to stop living. It was the one regret he had. At first, he hadn’t wanted a relationship, but slowly his mind opened as did his heart when she persisted. When they stopped Kolyat from making a huge mistake, his outlook changed for the better. He confided in her that he felt attraction and care for her. She returned his feelings, at first not sure if it was love as they didn't know each other well at that point, but over the course of the months of working together to bring down the Collectors, they became closer and it did in fact turn into an all-consuming love for both of them.

After she lost Thane, her world turned dark, her heart closed up. She was honest with herself; she knew she took greater risks than normal. She just didn't care anymore. She wanted the war to be done, she wanted to be with Thane. But the God's apparently had different ideas. Now here she was years later, alone and confused. It was not something she was comfortable with. These feelings were not something she could shoot with a gun or knock out with a blow from her fist.

* * *

  
  
She arrived at the restaurant in the Zakera Ward with about ten minutes to spare, moving through the crowd towards the restaurant that Kolyat had the reservations for. She asked the maitre d' for the Krios party. It was a rule to never put the reservation under her name. He informed her they had not arrived yet, so she asked to be taken to the bar and notified when her party had arrived.

Several minutes later, ensconced on a bar stool sipping a drink with an umbrella and fruit pieces floating in it, she was told that her party had arrived and was currently being seated. She took a breath, dreading the meal to come. Kolyat leaned in and kissed her cheek, then introduced her to the two people with him. An asari, Tesla, who was his date, and a turian, Tiburnus, whom she supposed was her "date". She looked around and frowned when she noticed how close to the window facing the ward they were. She was tempted to ask for a different table but noticed they were packed and the three of them were already seated. She sighed and hoped like hell there would be no issues.

The others asked a few questions she answered in short replies, not really wanting to relive the details of the war and what happened before. She kept glancing between Kolyat and Tesla and tapping her fingers on the table. "So, how do you know my son?" she finally asked the asari. Kolyat choked on a forkful of rice he had just put in his mouth.

Tesla's mouth dropped open and she gaped at them both, "Your son?"

"Yes, my son. Now answer the question." Shepard signaled for the waiter to bring her another one of the fruity drinks. Kolyat started to say something and she shot him a glare, one he knew well enough. He kept eating.

"I... uh, work at a store and he was one of the responders to the owners’ call to C-Sec complaining about a thief."

Shepard looked between them again. "I see. And how long ago was this?" Kolyat looked up and told her it was few weeks ago while she was out on a mission. "Hmm," was all she said, narrowing her eyes at the asari again.

She had just reached for her drink when she caught a flash of red out of the corner of her eye. She turned to see what it was, only there was nothing she could see out of the window with that color. She frowned then turned back to the table. "Shep, everything alright?" Kolyat asked; he knew she hated to be seated near windows.

"Yes, for now."

Talk turned to other things with the two newcomers asking more questions. She finally flat-out told them that she wouldn't be talking about the war anymore and her Spectre business was classified. Instead, they told her more about their jobs and what they did. The turian tried his hardest to gain and hold her attention, to no avail. He reached for her hand once, something he had seen other humans that were on dates do. She glared at him and told him the last guy who had the nerve to do that ended up being thrown through a window, and he backed off. Kolyat let out a sigh.This wasn't working.

Shepard heard the sigh and looked over at Kolyat. He looked up and said to her, "Shep, it's been three years since Dad died. You have to let him go, please."

She stared at him, then at her drink, swirling the umbrella around. "It's not that easy, Kolyat. Your father, he became everything to me. Being with him when all of that was done with, it actually was the only thing that kept me going. Then to have it all taken away, again, this time permanently..." She glanced up once more catching a glimpse of red through the window. "All right, what the hell is going on? Someone keeps looking in the damn window; it better not be reporters, I have had enough of their bullshit for a lifetime." The others looked up and didn't see anything out of the ordinary. They looked at her as if she was imagining it. "I am getting that same feeling that I got when your father used to watch me through the ship's vent before he'd dropped down and... never mind," she cleared her throat, a slight blush coming to her cheeks. "Someone is up to something," she said to them, her eyes traveling around the perimeter of the window. Nothing stood out, but that feeling was there.

"If you are all finished, I think it's best we leave. There are still those out there that blame me for the whole war. They just don't want to get it through their thick skulls that we wouldn't be here if not for the fact I had to blow the hell out of the Citadel to destroy the Reapers. I won't put Kolyat in danger, nor either of you." The waiter brought them the check and Shepard insisted on paying the bill. She led the way out, scanning the area quickly before letting the others through the door. She still had that odd feeling of being watched but couldn't tell where it was coming from. When they arrived at the transit terminal she made sure Kolyat and his date got their cab safely, telling him to call her as soon as he arrived home to let her know he was safe. He kissed her cheek told her to be careful, to which she gave a snorting laugh and he nudged her arm, then left. Tiburnus asked if she wanted him to escort her home. She declined and apologized for earlier. She made sure he was safely on his way before hailing her own cab. It wasn't until she was inside and away from there that the feeling went away.

She had just arrived at her own apartment when she got a call from Kolyat letting her know that he had seen Tesla to her home then went to his. "Shep, what the hell was that about?" he asked her, his voice strained.

"There was someone definitely there, Kolyat. That feeling is hard to forget. Someone was watching us while we were at the restaurant. I saw a flash of red several times. It wasn't coincidence or a passerby. They don't elicit the same feeling, the same intense itch that I get from someone concentrating, like lining up a kill shot. Call your friends first thing in the morning, make sure they are all right. Double check your door and windows, and make damn sure you set that alarm I had installed. Please." Shepard set the alarm on her door and double checked the door leading out to the balcony. Her apartment was up on the 5th floor, so she wasn't too worried about someone coming in the windows as they didn't open.

"All right, Shep. I set the alarm. I'll call you in the morning. If anything happens, I'll be alerted by C-Sec. Take your own advice for once and lock up and be careful." Kolyat told her he loved her and then hung up. Shepard got ready for bed after putting her Carnifax on the nightstand.

* * *

  
  
Gods he should have known better, should have known she would sense someone watching her. After all she had been through, along with the military training and most likely help from Thane, she would be on alert all the time. But he couldn't seem to help himself. He had to know, he had to see if she was enjoying her date. He had to see if she was attracted to the other male, if she left with him or brought him back to her place. The need was too great and he gave in. He followed Kolyat from his apartment to that asari's, then to the restaurant. It wasn't hard to do. Kolyat seemed oblivious most of the time and that asari was no better.

He had stood in the deep shadows of the stores across from the restaurant and had gotten lucky when he noticed they were seated next to the large windows at the front. He watched as she greeted the others and spoke to them. He moved a bit closer to get a better look at the turian male that was at the table. He was about Shepard's age, the color of the wet grey stones on Kahje, with green colony markings. When she glanced toward the window, he ducked to the side, hoping she didn't see him. A few minutes later, he was watching from his original spot when he noticed the turian attempt to put his hand on her. He jerked, moving toward the window before he realized what he was doing. Rage at the other male filled him.

He moved out of the line of sight just in time. They left shortly after that and he once more waited and watched from the shadows, letting out a deep heartfelt sigh as he saw the turian leave alone. He’d closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead, knowing he was in deep trouble. There was no way he was going to be able to stay. He knew he wouldn't be able to keep his feelings hidden from anyone for too much longer.

* * *

  
  
The week seemed to drag by. Shepard didn't get the feeling of being watched again when she went about preparing for her mission. Kolyat let her know everything was fine but Tesla, it seemed, was too scared of being around Shepard to want to continue to date Kolyat. Shepard apologized to him but said if it scared her that much she wasn't good enough for him, considering his father was a famed assassin and his stepmother was none other than Commander Shepard.

The day before Shepard was scheduled to leave, she received a message from Liara who told her she had to cancel Feron's transport back to the Broker ship and since she was heading there anyway, asked if she could bring him with her. Shepard hesitated for a bit longer than she should have and Liara picked up on it.

"What's wrong, Shepard?" Liara asked, concern for her good friend showing through even over the comm link.

"It's nothing, Liara. I guess if he doesn't mind the confined quarters of my small ship I can bring him. I'll just pick up my new partner after I drop him off. There isn't really room for three people on board."

"New partner? When did this happen? Who is it?" Liara asked her, quickly typing something on her terminal.

Shepard looked at her, then shrugged, "Council insisted. This mission is one they want me to use to see if this person is Spectre material. They know I don't like working with others, so it's not going to be something permanent, I hope." Shepard picked up a datapad from her desk. "Says it's a human, male, System's Alliance. Stone, Jonathan, Staff Lieutenant. According to the information the Council gave me, he received numerous medals for Valor during the war. Whoopie. A hell of a lot of people deserve them; they never got them nor will they even have their efforts recognized. I'll need to leave early. My docking clearance is for 0600. Feron will need to be there before then."

"I'll see what I can dig up for you. Feron already agreed to come with you, um...he will actually be arriving at your place anytime now, to stay. I am having the apartment cleaned and maintenance work done on it to upgrade some of the items. " Liara was busy typing on a different terminal and didn't see Shepard pale or almost drop the datapad when she was told Feron would be spending the night in the apartment.

"All right, if everything goes as planned we should be at your ship early the next morning. Did you get the information I needed for the actual mission?" Shepard asked her. She heard the door to her apartment open with the VI greeting Feron, who had used Liara's passcode to enter. Feron called out to let her know he was there before heading up to the second floor to the guest bedroom. Liara and Shepard went over some of the details of the information, nothing major, things Shepard already knew but Liara confirmed for her. The rest would be given to her when she arrived at the Broker's ship. Shepard heard a noise from the doorway to the office area and saw Feron grabbing something from behind the mini bar in the room before sitting on the stool waiting for her to be finished talking with Liara.

"Ok Liara, let me know how much the information on Stone is gonna cost me. I want to know who I am actually dealing with considering he's gonna be on my ship for days on end until this mission is done with," Shepard told her. She didn't see Feron flinch.

"No charge for this Shepard. You're doing me a favor by bringing Feron back instead of having him wait for me to get him a different transport back."

"Fair enough. Will see you soon. Shepard out." Liara smiled at her and told her goodbye before disconnecting the call. She stretched, then looked over at Feron who was hunched over looking at the top of the bar and not saying anything. "We will be leaving pretty early in the morning. My departure time is at 0600 and I have a lot to do beforehand. I was originally planning on leaving here at around 0430 to head for the ship. Is that going to be ok with you?"

He took a drink from the bottle he held in his hand and said, "Yeah." Then he got up and walked out toward the living room area, sat on the sofa, and turned on the vid screen. She closed her eyes and leaned back in her office chair. Something had to give sooner or later between them. The night they shared was causing a strain to their friendship, and Kolyat had started to notice. If he did, then Liara definitely would and knowing her, she would figure it out fast and then all hell would break loose. She got up, grabbed a bottle of water from the cooler under the bar, then headed out to try to talk to him.

"Feron, we need to try to talk about this. What happened between us, we need to figure this out." Shepard told him as she sat on the opposite end of the couch, pulling her feet up on the cushion and resting her arms on her knees. He used the remote to turn off the vid that was playing. He had no idea what it even was about; he wasn't paying any attention to it.

"Nothing to figure out, Shepard. We were drinking, had sex, you got upset and can't remember it. You can't stand to even look at me. Why should we even bother? Just do the best we can to forget it even happened." He let out a snort. A drell doesn't forget anything... ever. He glanced over at her. She had a frown on her face and a sad look in her eyes and was swinging her bottle by the neck.

"I don't remember it, that's true. But I have been trying. I don't like the way things are between us right now. I used to enjoy our talks we had on Liara's ship and when you both came to visit. You two are the only ones, other than Kolyat, that still do. And it's not that I can't stand looking at you. I can't stand not remembering, not understanding why I acted like I did that night. Was it because it was you or was it because it just happened to be you in the car? I don't understand how I could have done that. In either case, I used you. It is not something that I am proud of. When I saw the additional damage I did to your back, I felt sick. I never lost control like that before. On top of it, I thought... I thought you and Liara… might be together, which means I did something horrible to both of you and the one I consider to be my sister." She took a drink from her bottle and then laid her head on her knees, wrapping her arms around them.

He looked at her closer. She really was upset about this. Not because they had sex, but because of losing control of herself. "You really have never lost control have you? Liara and I are not together, never have been. Friends yes, lovers never."

"I can't afford to, Feron. I worry that I would hurt my partner. Between military training and my enhancements courtesy of Cerberus, I could do serious harm to someone."

He sat there quietly for a while, thinking and watching her. "Shep, you didn't hurt me that night, so stop thinking you did. It got a little bit rough but no harm was done. And you didn't use me. If that was the case, I think it would be safe to say we used each other. I guess it won't hurt too much to tell you this, but I wanted you that night. Had wanted to be with you for a while, but with you mourning Thane the way you were, I just couldn't bring myself to tell you. I was afraid of you rejecting me, or worse, throwing me through a window." She gave a little chuckle when he brought up what she did to that poor turian. "Maybe it was just your body and mind's way of letting you know it was finally time to let go. Whatever the reason, I'm just happy it was with me. I just wish you felt the same and could remember at least some of it."

"Human minds are funny, Feron. The more we try to remember, the less often we can. But the minute a particular scent is smelled or a sound is heard, often it will trigger a memory. Now that we have talked about what happened a bit, maybe the memories can trigger. You might be right, maybe it is time. To be honest, I had been so lonely. But do you honestly think he would forgive me for letting him go? It's only been three years."

He thought about it for a few minutes. She deserved a better answer than the same one they just repeated to try and get her to move on. "I think so. I think he would want you to be happy. It won't be forever, not if you really want to be with him. When it comes time for you to cross the sea, if your love for him is still there and you wish it, I think the Gods would let you go there. If anyone deserves happiness, it is you. Hell, you saved the whole damned galaxy and almost died because of it, for the second time. So yeah, yeah I think it would really be all right to move on." He watched as she started to swing the bottle again, then lift her head and smile at him, causing him to suck in a breath and hold it. He didn't realize just how much he missed that smile that was given to her closest friends and those considered family.

Maybe things will work out after all, if he could just come up with the patience to wait for her a while longer.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UPDATE 10/30/2016: Edited for grammar, punctuation, spelling, and sentence structure. Thanks go to my beta Kate_Shepard.

* * *

 

 Her alarm went off at 0300 hours. Groaning, she rolled out of bed and grabbed a quick shower and dressed. When she went to go downstairs, she didn't see any lights on or hear anything. She went to the guest bedroom and heard a low growling sound coming from within, then a low moan. She chewed her lip wondering if he was okay.She decided to listen at the door a while longer.If it sounded as if he was ill, she would knock and go in.

 

**

_She runs her hand down my frills, the pressure exquisite, just right to cause a shiver of desire to run down my spine._

_Her lips and tongue follow. "Feron, please," she begs me, her body grinding against mine as she sits in my lap._

_Gods, I want her so badly. She's finally in my arms, wanting me as much as I want her._

_Her hands are quick and sure, those five fingers finding the hidden buckles and snaps of my clothing, stripping them from me._

_Her lips follow her hands, kissing along the exposed flesh of my body._

_I grab her hands, stilling them, taking the hem of her dress and raising it, removing it and dropping it to the floor. Finally, her body is revealed to me._

_Skin soft to the touch, scarred here and there by wounds long healed or ones more recent. She shudders and moans out my name as I lean in licking her neck, while my hands remove the lace covering baring her breasts to my gaze. Perfect white globes fit my hand, her nipple puckering as the light roughness of my scaled hand runs over it._

_Our clothes hurriedly removed from our bodies, alcohol making coordination difficult at times, we fall together on the bed, her body firm yet soft. Her scent, vanilla with a hint of cherry._

_Her lips on mine, hands searching, learning each other's bodies. Her hand closes around me, stroking from base to tip, my cock twitches and I moan._

_I run my hand down her body. She shivers and moans as my hand finally reaches her center. She is hot and wet, ready for me._

_I push my fused fingers inside her; she is so tight. She arches her back and gasps out, 'Feron.' Her hand strokes me faster, matching the speed of my fingers moving inside of her body._

_'Now, I want you inside me,' she growls out, her voice becomes demanding. I enter her, the feeling like nothing I had ever experienced before._

_So incredibly tight, squeezing around me, pulsing waves of wetness enclosing me._

_I close my eyes, pushing slowly until_   _finally, I am completely inside her. Her hands grip my shoulders, legs wrap around me tightly, keeping me in as deep as I can go. As her hands caress my shoulders and back, I start to move, slowly at first, letting her become accustomed to my size. Her legs widen. Her body meets my thrusts._

 _'Oh yes, harder, Feron. Oh God,' she moans out as I thrust into her faster and harder, her hands move to my ass pulling me in deeper with each thrust. I feel her start to tighten around me, her nails scraping down my back. I can feel them leaving marks, light damage to my scales. I don't care. This night, this time with her_ _is worth it._

_She screams out my name, cries for more as I keep thrusting into her, fucking her through her orgasm. I try to hold out, to give her more, everything I can. Her nails rake me again, once more grabbing my ass, 'Feron, please, now.' I can't stop, and I thrust several more times until I push deep, feeling the barrier to her womb, I pour myself into her. Throbbing hard, my orgasm the most intense I have ever had. I keep coming, filling her as I call out her name._

_When my body finally completely empties itself, she groans and sighs. She starts to drift off as I whisper in her ear, 'I love you, Shep.'”_

 

**

Shepard stood outside of the door realizing that what she just heard was his memory of their night together and if the sounds coming from inside of the room were any indication, he was masturbating to the memory. She backed slowly and silently away from the door, hoping he didn't know she was out there.

She had started to go down the stairs when she stopped. _He told me he loved me that night. And I don't remember a thing. No wonder he was as mad as he was at first._ She went into the kitchen and started coffee brewing, pulling out the items from the refrigeration unit to make breakfast for them both when he finally came downstairs.

She was looking through her emails and drinking her coffee when he came down, at first not looking at her, his frills flushed. She put the datapad down and turned to the items on the counter. "Good morning, Feron. This time I'll make breakfast. I hope veggie omelets are all right. I don't want to leave too many fresh foods in the cooler. Although, knowing Kolyat he will eat it all up anyway while I'm gone." He nodded to her while making his coffee then sat on the stool watching her chop vegetables to make the meal.

"How did you sleep last night? Liara told me that mattress wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world anymore. Was thinking maybe it was time to get a new one." She added the vegetables to the egg mixture, then tested the oil in the heating skillet.

"It was fine, maybe not as firm as it could be now, but I have slept on worse." He was watching her and noted her flushing cheeks when he mentioned the firmness. "The sheets were soft though, a bit on the cool side. Maybe if they were warmer, it would also have helped." He saw her flush even more. Her hands shook a bit as she put some bread into the toaster, then grated cheese into a bowl to put on their omelets.

"I'll have to try and remember to turn up the heat before going to sleep when you guys are here. It does get a bit cool in here at night for some reason, the temperature seems to fluctuate more than it should." She lifted his eggs from the skillet. Sliding them onto his plate adding toast, she put it on the bar in front of him then made her own. "After we eat, I'll need to finish going over my messages then set the VI to handle most things while I'm gone. I'm glad Kolyat is going to be coming by, he's a lifesaver when I have to be gone for a while. Never forgets to feed Mr. Squeakers. Do you have everything you need to take with you?"

"Yes. I didn't bring much anyway; everything I need is usually already at Liara's apartment," he told her. After he finished his last bite of eggs, he watched her finish her own omelet and slide it on her plate, grabbing toast and settling on the other stool in the kitchen.

"I overheard you talking with Liara yesterday. Someone is going to be on your ship? If you don't mind telling me, what is that all about? That's pretty unusual for you." He had finished up his meal and took his dishes to the sink, washing them and putting them away as she finished hers. He cleaned the rest of the items used to make breakfast while she explained the Council's decision. He leaned back against the sink. "So you haven't been given any additional information about this guy at all?" She shook her head no while she finished her toast. She looked up, seeing his brow ridges drawn downward into their version of a wrinkled frowning forehead.

"Why you, though? If it was because he's a human, what about that other Spectre? Why can't he do it?" He took her now empty plate and washed it as she finished her coffee.

"Not sure but it might be because I have a lot more experience than he does. Alenko has the annoying habit of doing everything by the book, even though we don't have a book to go by. He doesn't always finish his mission as quickly as he could have because of it. I might not be as squeaky clean in the way I handle things, but I do it quick and precise. I also don't hesitate when things have to be done down and dirty; he does." She let out a snort, "I also get the best information at rock bottom prices; Liara charges him out the ass for the info because of the way he treated me when I came back to life and again when he pulled a gun on me when I went to save the councilors. Like I said, he is a decent Spectre but he hesitates and still doesn't always see the bigger picture."

He grinned at her, knowing he was the one that digs up that information for her. After he finished cleaning up her kitchen, he went to get his duffle and put it by the door while she was in going over her messages. When the alarm went off letting her know it was time to leave, she gathered her own duffle, shut off her private terminal, and checked the fish tank VI one more time before leaving.

When they reached the ship, they stowed their gear then Shepard did her preflight check and accepted the delivery of rations and other items. Feron just lounged in the navigator's chair watching her. Thirty minutes before they were scheduled to leave, an urgent message came in from the Council. She was told to immediately pick up Staff Lieutenant Stone and head straight for the Styx Theta cluster; there was a distress call sent out by another Spectre investigating suspicious activity on the planet Nepmos.

She sent back an acknowledgment, then prepared for immediate departure. "Feron, sorry but we have some detours before getting you back home. Get a call in to Liara to let her know and see if she has that info ready on Stone. I can at least go over it on the way to the site. And, well... as you know there are only two bunks on this ship. You'll need to either move your gear or be ready to share with Stone." She said the last with her cheeks flaring a bright red. He looked at her then swallowed. "All right, I'll do that once I get this call in to Liara."

Citadel docking was already notified of her emergency. She used her Spectre authority to bypass the rest of the others and headed for the rebuilt Systems Alliance Headquarters in London. She sent an urgent message on the contact code she was given for the LT, informing him of his need to be ready for pick up and immediate departure and was given 90 minutes to be ready, as that was how long it would take her to get from the Citadel to London. Feron explained what was going on and Liara sent the encrypted data to Feron. He transferred it to a data pad then dropped it and his bag in her quarters. Staring at the bed, he started to fall into solipsism. His memory turned to the night with Shepard. Waking as he had every morning since, hard and wanting her, his hand already on his stiff member working himself until his release came, was going to be impossible. This was going to be hell, sleeping beside her and not taking her. He was also going to be keeping an eye on this human male.

 

* * *

 

LT Stone met her at the dock, roughly a bit over 6 feet tall, his muscular build was similar to Vega's, and he sported a military crew cut. She gave him a quick rundown on what was going on as he boarded the ship.He did a double take at the drell in the pilot seat and frowned.

"Feron, get us clearance for immediate departure. Use my Spectre status. Set the course. I'll be back to take over as soon as I can," she said. Feron immediately did as she asked, getting on the comm channel to the docking authority then piloting the ship away toward the Sol Relay.

"You are aware I will be assessing you in regards to a possible recommendation for Spectre status. Follow me Stone; I'll show you to your bunk." Shepard led him to the middle of the ship, then pointed to the open doorway on the left. "Stow your gear there, then come to the small mess we passed. We'll go over the details of what I expect from you as a passenger on my ship, and what exactly we'll be doing."

"Feron, how soon will we hit the relay?" Shepard asked from behind him.

"Three hours to get to the Sol relay, Shep. Then we'll need to jump two more times to reach the Styx Theta cluster, then to the right system and planet."

"All right, I need to go over things with our passenger. I'll be back up when I'm done with that. Hopefully, it won't take more than the time for us to reach the Sol relay, then we can set the autopilot for a bit. Wish to hell they would have let me install one of the geth's AI's directly into my ship." He let out a chuckle; he knew how hard she fought to get them Citadel species status.

 

* * *

 

She reached into a tiny cooler and tossed Stone a bottled water, also grabbing one for herself, then sat on one of the small fold down seats. He sat on the other and she went over the details she had, outlining to him that she would be evaluating how he handled himself out in the field and with any encounters with other people. Spectres were representatives of the Council. Even though technically they didn't have any rules to follow, it was proven that to have nothing monitoring them was something that needed to be changed. The Council had agreed and had slowly started to weed those that were misusing their authority from the remains of the Spectres. Hence why they were looking for new people.

"After this urgent mission, we'll have a brief layover for me to collect the intel for the original mission. After that one is complete, we will head to the Citadel so I can report to the Council. Decisions will be made at that point. Any questions?" she asked him as she finished up her water.

"Just one, what's a drell doing on board? I was told this was Spectre only. No one informed me of someone else. Is he part of the crew or ground support?" he growled out, crossing his arms. She slowly put the cap on the water bottle.

"First off, Stone. The drell has a name; it's Feron. What he is doing on MY ship is MY business and none of yours. So far, you are not making a good impression. I don't tolerate species bigotry. A piece of advice: don't fucking piss me off. Now, if you have a question about either of the missions, ask them. Otherwise, we're done here. You can look around the ship. The door across from your bunk room is off limits. The VI will notify when we get close to each of the relay jumps to prepare. The locker next to the cooler has nutribars and rations. Unless we are docked, that's what we eat."

When he said he didn't have any further questions she got up, pushed her seat up, and locked it into place then tossed her bottle into the recycler. She grabbed another bottle then headed to her bunk to get the datapad that Feron had dropped there earlier. Stone watched her enter the room and realized it was her bunk. When she came out, he was leaning against the door to the bunk across from hers. "VI, lock the door to Captain's room. Authorized personnel only." The symbol on the door turned red and she headed toward the bridge.

Dropping the bottle into Feron's lap, she glanced behind her to make sure Stone wasn't there. "He's gonna be a problem. I can already see it coming." She used the terminal in front of her to add Feron to the authorized personnel list, then locked access to it. He glanced over at her. "I heard. Did you want me to stay on board a bit longer? I know you can take care of yourself, but you don't need the added stress of a dumbass human male to add to it."

"Nope. Nothing to worry about. You have access to the bunk, make sure to lock it up. We'll see how it goes. By the time the one mission is done, I'll have decided on what to do. Besides, you need to get back. The Broker is probably going nuts right about now without you there to help." She gave him a smile as he broke out in a laugh.

"Between that damn Glyph and Javik, I don't doubt that one bit. I still haven't figured out how that damn VI kept finding me after I got rid of its tracker." He set the VI's autopilot then opened the bottle. "I'll be back; I'm gonna grab a nutribar."

Shepard placed a call to Kolyat, letting him know of changed plans and the possibility of being away longer. "How much longer? A week? Two?" he asked, she could tell he was at her place.The holo-screen was on and he was streaming a vid in the background.

"I'm not sure; you know how it goes. I left you a credit chit in the office drawer in case the food at the apartment runs out. Make sure you set the alarm."

"Yeah, yeah. Listen, Tiburnus wants to know if I thought you would want to go out with him again. Not a double date this time, just him and you. I had no idea what to tell him." She watched as he leaned forward and rubbed the back of his head. "I know that the first date didn't go as expected. But are you willing to try again?"

"Kolyat, he's just not my type. He seemed like a nice guy, but it won't work. I'm not saying I won't date again, just not him. What about you? Dating anyone else since Tesla?"

He snorted, "Nope. I still can't believe she dropped me because she was scared to be around you. Wish she would have told me sooner. Never would have bothered." He drew his brow ridges down, "Shep, who the hell is that behind you listening to us?"

Shepard leaned around her chair and saw Stone with his arms crossed leaning against the ship's bulkhead. "You need something or do you make a habit of listening in on private conversations?"

"Just looking around, getting the layout of this ship. I wanted to ask if I had to share quarters with that drell." He didn't seem to notice her narrowed eyes or the grip she had on the arm of the nav chair.

"No," she growled out, "you won't have to share quarters with Feron. It's none of your business, but he bunks with me. Now I suggest you find somewhere else to stand while I talk with my son." She waited until he moved away from the bridge area before turning back around to the comm screen, only to see Kolyat staring at her with his mouth gaping open.

"What the fuck do you mean he bunks with you? What the hell is going on, Shep?" Kolyat lowered his voice so it wouldn't carry too far. "When he was here, things were strange between you two, but what the hell? Is that why you won't go out with Tiburnus? How long has this been going on? When were you going to tell me?"

"God, Kolyat slow down. You sound like a salarian. You know there are only two bunks on the ship. And if you hadn't noticed, Stone is a damn bigot. There was nothing to tell you, and no it's not why I won't go out with Tiburnus. I am just not interested in dating him. Can we please drop it? Now isn't a good time to be discussing this. I'll send you a message when we reach the Broker's and again when I am heading home. If you need anything send me a message."

"Alright, but we are going to talk about this. Feron... I can't believe this...of all the people. My best friend and that bastard holds out on me about sleeping with my stepmom. Son of a bitch. Wait till I get my hands on him. I'm gonna snap his damn neck." Kolyat cut the connection before she could say a word.

Shepard sighed and rubbed the back of her neck trying to ease the tension from it. She heard a noise behind her and saw Feron coming up the walkway carrying another bottle of water and a data pad. As he sat in the other chair he looked at her, seeing the way she was rubbing her neck and frowning. "You alright?" He put the bottle into the small holder that Shepard had installed for her coffee and water.

"No, no I'm not alright. Stone came up behind me when I was talking to Kolyat; now Kolyat thinks something has been going on between us. He's mad because I didn't tell him, and he's going all ballistic about it." She opened the terminal, adding programs into the database, securing the files and systems, locking off access to any but the basic functions of the ship. By the time she was done, Stone couldn't access anything but his room, the shower, and vid streams from the database. Communications to and from the ship had to be approved by her or Feron first.

"Shep, you know he would have figured it out sooner or later. If he didn't, you know Liara would have. Things were too tense between us. What we do or don't do is none of anyone elses business, that includes Kolyat. He has been after you to move on from Thane, and you are at least trying now." He took a drink of water, closed his eyes, and settled back into the pilot's chair. "Even if it isn't with me, you are moving forward. No longer living in your memories. Your tu-fira has passed; he should be happy about it." The ship's VI sent out a warning that they were approaching their first relay jump.

 

* * *

 

Shepard was sitting at the fold down mess table going over the information Liara had sent her concerning Stone when Feron came in and grabbed some food for them. "Anything worth mentioning in there?" he asked as he sat down.

She snorted and said, "Yeah, wish to hell I had this before I accepted this crap assignment. I would have told the Council to shove it and passed it off to Alenko." She flipped the pad around and slid it across the table for him to read. He started to laugh then slid it back. "Shep, I think they didn't tell you about this because they knew what your response would have been."

"Yeah, this is gonna be one hell of a bumpy ride for the next who knows how long. I can't believe they would actually be considering this. And what the hell was Hackett thinking?" She ripped open the ration packet and dug out the tubes of food paste inside. "How long till we hit the other relay?" He had just torn open his own packet dumping the tubes onto the table when she asked. "Five hours left till the last relay jump, then at least ten to get to the right system and scout the planet, locate the signal, and then you can figure out what the hell is going on. Would have been nice if they gave you a bit more information. I can't access records at the terminal here on the ship. If we were at the base, I might have been able to give you something to work with."

He opened one of the tubes then looked at the ones she had, rooting in them to see if there were any he wanted to exchange for."Damn, I could eat some of that pizza we had that one night on the Citadel. That damn Kolyat stole the last piece of veggie deluxe from the box sometime in the middle of the night when we were asleep." She smacked his hand when he reached for the tube of chicken parmesan.

"That was him? I thought it was you." He pushed the tube of stroganoff to her side and quickly swiped the tube of chicken salad.

"No, it was him. I went to get it for breakfast and he took off from the kitchen when I started to bitch about it being gone, the blue bastard." Stone came into the mess and grabbed several ration packs before leaning up against the counter, listening to their banter.

"We might need to make a quick stop at Illium to restock. When I took on the main assignment, I didn't expect to have another one tossed at me a few minutes before leaving. Once we are done with this emergency, I'll let you know, Stone. If I decide on a layover, you can make a reservation for yourself at one of the local hotels." She grabbed one of the packets marked chocolate and opened it, squeezing it into her mouth before Feron could grab it from her. He quirked his brow ridge at her, then swiped the small pile of hard candy she had moved to the side. "Hey! Those were mine."

"Did you want me to ask for a room for you also?" Stone asked after he finished eating the one packet of tubes and opening another.

"No, I stay at a friend's apartment when I'm there. You can contact me using the comm link to the ship.The VI will forward the call to me." Shepard watched as Feron smirked at her then reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small bag, wiggling it in front of her.

"Oh that is so wrong, Feron. Where the hell did you find those chocolate covered raisins?" Her eyes were following that bag as he moved it like a hypnotist's watch.

"Shep, Shep, Shep... you know what I am and who I deal with. I have a few other goodies as well." He opened the packet up and poured some into his hand. She watched as he raised it to his mouth, dumping the small pile into his mouth and chewing.

"I hate you right now," she said, pouting. He wiggled the bag at her, then gave her some before resealing the bag and tucking it back into his pocket. He laughed as she put a single one in her mouth at a time. "Okay, I don't hate you anymore."

He chuckled at her. "Very glad to hear it. While you finish up, I'll send a message to Liara letting her know we may be needing the apartment. She can send in the crew to get it ready. The last time it was used was when Garrus and Tali were on Illium. The damn apartment had empty alcohol bottles and straws all over the place. Didn't want to know of the other things they had found." He stood up and gathered his emptied tubes and packaging before tossing it into the recycler. He passed by Stone on the way to the bridge.

"Feron, make sure they know to use those silk sheets.Those turian ones that Garrus has there scratch the hell outta my skin. They forgot before," Shepard called out to him.

She heard his reply of, "Yeah, I'm on it."

"So what do you usually do when you are on a mission? I mean between the time you leave and get to where you are going?" Stone asked her, moving to the seat that Feron vacated.

"I work, filling out reports, going over any intel I have. Putting in requests for upgrades, more intel, fixing and cleaning my weapons."

"Where do you usually get your intel? I assume the Council gives you most of it," he asked, watching her reading a datapad.

She let out a harsh laugh, "The Council gives barely the essentials. It is up to a Spectre to find and make contacts that are reliable. You pay or trade for the intel, sometimes with brokers and other times with other Spectres. As a Spectre, you are given pay based on the performance of your duties and since the war, now submit reports and expense sheets. They will usually reimburse you. If you cause too much damage, you won't see shit and will start to get shit jobs until you get back on their good side. That usually takes a while and you see the ass end of the galaxy more than you do the hubs."

"Shep, you have an incoming comm call from Spectre Alenko. You want to take it on the bridge or your quarters?" Feron's voice came over the comm.

"I'll take it on the bridge; tell him I'll be up in a second." She stood up, gathered her trash and the datapad, then hurried up to the bridge.

"Alenko, what can I do for you?" she said as she sat in the nav chair.

"Hey, Shepard. Heard scuttlebutt about you was heading to a distress call. Letting you know I will be near that same system. If you need backup, let me know. Also heard you got pinned with a partner. How's that working out for you?" He gave a low chuckle. He knew how much she hated to have to work with unknowns.

"Shut up. You got any intel to share on that distress call? Council blew this my way last minute, have no idea what I'm walking into."

He picked up a datapad and looked at it. "Feelers are out since it's a Spectre. Had a report passed along, possible salarian Spectre. Why he was on that planet is still unknown. That planet was infested with rachni. Shepard, we cleared most of them out and got the squad off of it when we were on the original Normandy."

"Unless it's a rogue queen, we don't have to worry about the rachni. It's got to be something else. Our queen had her drones hunt down the ones that had escaped Cerberus. I'm pretty sure she would have found a way to contact me if she thought there was a possibility of one going bad. If you get anything else, let me know. Thanks for checking in. You still with Cortez?" She settled back in her chair for a bit of gossip.

"Yeah, he's around here somewhere. How about you? It's been a while since that assassin killed Thane. Have you found anyone yet?"

"I'm still a mess and it's a bit complicated right now, but I'm working on it. That damn kid of mine even went so far as to set me up on a blind date."

She shook her head when Alenko started to laugh, "I can imagine that went well. Did he go through a window as well or did you drop him off a roof?"

She grimaced at him, "I'm not that bad. The guy left in a cab and he was fine." She saw Cortez lean in around Alenko and wave to her; she gave a wave back.

"Hey there, Shepard. What was that about a date?" She heard Alenko fill in Cortez about her recent date. The ship’s VI gave a warning about exiting comm range in five minutes.

"Did you hear that you two gotta go. I'll send out a call if I need backup. Behave both of you. Shepard, out."

The ship gave the usual warning letting them know they were approaching the next relay jump. Shepard went back to reading over the datapad while Feron sat and stared at her, falling into memories.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick thanks to all my readers, the kudos and comments are greatly appreciated. Hope you are enjoying it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 10/30/2016 Beta read by Kate_Shepard. Edited for grammar, punctuation, spelling, and sentence structure. Thanks.
> 
> Hope you're able to enjoy the story more with these wonderful fixes.

* * *

 

 

"Shep, we are approaching the last relay jump. The Broker has been monitoring comm traffic. Bits and pieces have been picked up in the system. The secondary encryption is definitely salarian, but wasn't active long enough to register the code assignment. No mention of rachni, but there was some chatter about scientists. Whether he was there investigating the scientists or whether he was there for another reason is still unknown. Communication stopped shortly after. The comm lines to various agents will be kept open. This part of the info was sent free in good faith. The Broker has an issue that needs to be taken care of. If you agree to take on the job, any other info will be forwarded. Assurances were sent that it was within your terms already set forth for the jobs." Feron sent the message over the ship's comm system. Shepard and Stone were sitting at the workbenches in the cargo hold working on their weapons.

"As long as it's within the terms, it will be acceptable. Keep in touch with the Shadow Broker, let me know of any updates. Set the VI to go to autopilot three hours after we jump. Then we run dark, get some sleep, and be ready to take on whatever we find during the scans. Shepard out." She turned back to cleaning and checking her sniper rifle, lovingly caressing it, carefully handling it so as to not add any more scuffs to it. Stone watched her as he scrubbed down the assault rifle in front of him. The lights gave a flash as warning seconds before the ship went through the relay.

"What's up with that gun?" He asked her, dropping a scope mod onto the table. She frowned at his rough handling of his equipment.

"This is my late husband’s rifle. It's saved my life countless times when it was in his hands and has served me well since his passing." She carefully checked it over once more before adding her mods back on and putting it in the custom case beside her. The submachine gun came next, just as carefully disassembled, cleaned, and reassembled.

The heavy pistol was last and he noticed it had taken quite a beating. "What about that one? Another one of your husband's weapons?"

She shook her head, disassembling it and starting to clean it. "No, this one is the HMWP Master Pistol. Spectre issue. Belonged to the Spectre who was in charge of my evaluation, Nihlus Kryik, one of the most decorated Spectres there ever was. He had left this and a few other things on the original Normandy. When he was killed by another Spectre on Eden Prime, his belongings were sent to the Council. After the war ended, the turian councilor sent this to me as a gift of appreciation."

They ate dinner after the VI took over piloting. Shepard and Feron played several rounds of Skyllian Five poker. Stone went to his quarters and they heard one of the vids from the database playing. Shepard turned red when they realized he had found the porn stash that was put on there as a joke from the Normandy's pilot, affectionately referred to as Joker. Feron looked at her and then glanced away, the sounds of the horrible porn actors echoing in the quiet confines of the ship. He dropped his head into his bent arms and covered it, trying to muffle the sounds and muttering curses the whole time. Shepard shakily drank from her water bottle, wishing she had some alcohol on board to get smashed and pass out so she wouldn't have to hear it.

"It sounds like he found one of the few human-on-human ones Joker snuck into the database. I swear, the next time I see him I'm gonna break every brittle bone in his body. He had to have gotten help from EDI to do this," she said trying to talk over the sounds of "oh yes, more, harder, harder" coming from down the hall.

"I don't give a fuck who did it. How the hell are we going to be able to sleep with that going on, let alone share a bed while that damn thing is playing?" He was lightly banging his head on the table.

"We can always hope the door on my quarters helps to muffle the sound, maybe play music. I think I have some extra pillows...we can put them over our heads until it stops?" She was red as the stripe on her N7 armor. "Why the hell didn't I check the database earlier."

There was a lull in the sex sounds coming from the other set of quarters and they took that opportunity to dump their trash and practically run for Shepard's quarters. They quickly closed the door and locked it. When the sound didn't start up again, they both sighed with relief. Shepard gathered up her night wear and headed for the tiny bathroom a little ways down from the quarters. She locked the door, then used the facilities and changed her clothes. Feron was waiting to do the same when she came out. She headed back to her quarters, put the sheets and blankets on the bed, then pulled out the flat storage bag that contained two pillows, opened it up, and watched as they puffed back into shape. By the time she was done Feron had entered the room and the VI had locked the door. Shepard started the alert protocols and the VI had the wake up alarm set.

They stared at each other for a minute before Shepard took a breath and got into bed. Feron wiped his hands on his shorts, then climbed in behind her, pulling the covers up. He held himself stiffly away from her. She turned off the lights and let out a sigh. "Feron, neither one of us is going to get any sleep if we don't relax. It's all right, honestly. Just get comfortable and let's try and get some rest."

He waited then slowly began to relax his body, "Shep, would you mind if I put my arm around you?"

She was silent for a minute. "No, I don't mind." She heard him let out a small breath then he slid his arm around her waist. His body relaxed more. They both became more comfortable with each other until they finally closed their eyes to sleep.

They both jerked awake when the vid player in Stone's room started up again, playing yet another porn movie. "Holy hell, I have had just about enough of this shit. VI, modify the volume on the vid player in the quarters assigned to LT Stone, lower volume. Once he falls asleep, shut it off or when that vid is done playing, deny all requests to play more for the rest of the time that the sleep cycle has been programmed. If he complains, tell him I said tough shit." She pulled up the covers, trying to cover her head with them to mute the volume even more. When that didn't work, she rolled over to her other side and faced Feron, yanking the pillow out from under her head, and scooting closer to him so she could put her head on his pillow and cover both of their heads with her own pillow, which caused him to let out a slight laugh.

"We are going to smother if we have to keep that pillow up there," he said to her, the pillow already making it harder to breathe. She groaned and then removed the pillow. "How the hell am I gonna put up with this for who knows how long. I swear I should just shoot him and blame it on a combatant."

"The noise level has dropped. Let's try to go back to sleep. If worse comes to worst, we can always go up and try to sleep in the bridge chairs. They are further away," he told her, his dual toned voice huskier than normal from sleep. He froze when she put her hand on his chest, then pushed him to lay on his back. She snuggled closer to him and put her head on his shoulder, wrapping an arm around his middle. She sighed, then brought her knee up, draping her leg across one of his, her knee dropping down in between his lower thighs. He swallowed then took the chance on wrapping the arm that was under her up and over her waist, bringing her even closer to his body. His other hand went to her thigh. "Night, Feron," she sighed and rubbed her face against his shoulder, starting to relax back into sleep. It took him a while longer as he didn't want to miss having the memory of her being so close to him.

When the VI alerted them to the end of the sleep cycle, Shepard and Feron came awake slowly, wrapped tightly around each other. Shepard was practically laying on Feron, her head buried into the crook of his neck. Her leg had either moved higher on him or he had pulled it up. Her thigh was now tight up against his crotch. She could feel his hardened cock against her. He had one hand on her waist and the other clutched that same thigh. She had started to pull away when he tightened his hold on her. "Please, just a bit longer. Let me hold you like this, for just a few minutes more," he whispered to her. She closed her eyes and relaxed back into him. He let out the breath he was holding and caressed her waist.

Her hand started to stroke his chest, lightly and slowly at first, like a light tickle. Then she pressed more firmly, tracing the patterning with her finger, touching the different splashes of coloring. His breathing sped up and she felt him pull her thigh even tighter against him. She sighed and ran her hand up the soft part of his neck to his cheek, running her fingers over the frill ridge there, then bringing it back down, stroking lightly on the softer ribbing. He let out a low groan flexing his fingers on her waist sliding up under the hem of her shirt to touch her skin there.

How she had missed waking up wrapped in another's arms, the feeling of smooth, dry, scaly flesh against her own. She knew no human or turian would even come close to feeling right. Feron, though, felt right against her. Other than the one interruption during the night, she actually was able to get more than two or three consecutive hours of sleep without the use of prescription drugs or alcohol. She ran her hand from his chest down to his waist, pausing to trace each stripe. She could feel his shaky breathing, the way his muscles tensed up. She knew he wanted to be with her, she’d heard his memory, plus all the times he slipped "even if it isn't with me" into the conversation. If this...thing...between them didn't work out, would it hurt their friendship? She wasn't sure she wanted to test it; she had so few "friends" now that the war was over and they no longer needed "the Commander" to fix everything anymore.

She shifted, raising up on her elbow and looked down into his face, placing more of her weight onto him. She ran her hand over his crest and frill ridges, he followed her hand with his head, wanting more contact. Her hand moved across the green and blue areas of contrasting color, then over his purple and yellow frill ridge down to his light reddish chin and lips. He was so very different in color from Thane. Feron's light green eyes were clearly visible in the deep pools of onyx.

He was staring up into her face, seeing her face softening as she touched him. There was also hesitation in that touch. What was she worried about? He was about to ask when they heard Stone come out of his quarters heading for the facilities. They knew it was time to get up. The moment had passed. He hoped there would come a time for more. He moved his hands from her as she shifted again. She rolled up and out of the bed, spending a few minutes getting her clothing out as he laid there getting his body under control. He got up and came up behind her. Taking the chance of being rejected, he ran his hand down her back and dropped his head on the top of hers. When she didn't move away or tell him to stop, he let out a breath. "I'll go get the coffee ready. It will be done by the time you are dressed." He grabbed a pair of sweatpants that he had bought on the Citadel, pulling them on over his shorts, then left her alone in the room.

He was adding water to the machine, filling it up for several servings worth of coffee, when he heard from behind him, "What the fuck happened to your back?" Feron glanced back over his shoulder, looking at the other male. He closed the lid on the machine, turned it on, then turned around. Stone got a look at the front of Feron's heavily scarred torso as well.

"This is the price you pay when you double cross the Shadow Broker. And it is a price I would gladly pay again to save Shepard, as she saved me." He reached up and took down a metal cup from the cabinet, then retrieved the box of sugar granules and powdered creamer from another one. As Shepard came up beside him, he handed her the cup of prepared coffee. "I'll be back in a few minutes. Don't eat the strawberry fruit bar, I claim it," Feron said. She nudged him with her elbow then intentionally grabbed the strawberry bar, tore it open, and took a big bite. He let out a playful growl and trill before walking back to change.

Stone looked at her, "He said the Shadow Broker did that to him, yet you are getting information from and doing jobs for him. How the hell can you do that?"

Shepard looked at him, took a sip of her coffee then answered him. "We all pay a price to do business. Whether we buy, sell, or trade information. Feron paid a heavy price for interfering with the business between the Broker and the Collectors when he helped to save my body from being sold to the Collectors. I made the Broker personally pay an even heavier price when I rescued Feron and had seen what was done to him. The debt was wiped at that point from both sides. This is going to be the best piece of advice I can give to you: don't screw with the Broker. Play it straight and you will have no worries. Even think about trying to mess with business and be prepared for a heavy penalty."

Stone got a cup of coffee and went to sit at the small table. He had a thoughtful sort of look on his face as he sat staring into his cup. Feron came back out and got his own cup of coffee, grabbing a bar from the locker and leaning against the small counter. He was wearing his signature red and silvery grey leathers and Shepard looked at him. She ran her hand along the red part of his jacket, then frowned. He froze, swallowing hard, then took another bite of his bar, slowly chewing it when she looked up into his face. He blinked at her, then raised a brow ridge. There was a deep humming coming from him as he stared at her. She knew the sound. It was the same one Thane would use when he was being possessive of her, a warning to other males to keep clear as she was taken.

"I think you need to get the cooler checked. It might be broken. I'm hearing this really strange humming noise in here," Stone said as he dumped his used cup into the small sink and walked past them. Shepard clapped a hand across her mouth to hold in the laugh at that. Feron only took another drink of his coffee.

 

* * *

 

Feron was monitoring communications while Shepard started scanning near the last known coordinates of the missing Spectre. Stone was leaning against the bulkhead again watching them work. Shepard located what seemed to be a facility nearby. There were power signatures coming from it, but it was very small. Either it was almost out of power or something was interfering with the signature. "I'm almost positive that facility is what we are looking for. Any comm traffic? Or news from the Broker or Alenko?"

"Alenko is in the system, a few minutes from our position.He sent through a comm notice that he is on standby and is ready to help if you need it. No other comm chatter or news is available." He frowned.With Liara not sending any additional information to them, he started to worry about just what Shep was going to be walking blindly into down there.

"All right, send the coordinates to him. Make sure he knows we have no further intel for him right now. I'll keep the comms open, if we run into trouble the signal will be sent on the emergency channel." She stood up and nodded to Stone. They went to the cargo bay and changed into their hardsuits, gathered their weapons, and made sure to be fully stocked with medigel.

She opened the door for the small Personal Armed and Armored Transport vehicle. They had upgraded the firepower and armor of a Mako and the maneuverability of a Hammerhead rolled it all into one transport, a gift from the geth consensus for everything she had done to get their people recognized as a Council race. Little did the Council know it also had a special "VI" installed.

"Activate, program code Lazarus, authorization Shepard," she said as she buckled herself into the driver's seat, pointing to the gunners seat for Stone to get into.

"Voice match, positive. Passcode," came the digitized male voice over the speaker.

"Lima Echo Golf India Oscar November One One Eight Three," Shepard said while she made sure Stone was ready.

"Passcode accepted. Hello, Shepard. I have been hoping you would come to see me. I have run the necessary checks. I am ready to go when you are." Shepard smiled at the familiar voice of her geth squad member. It had taken almost the entire two years since the war ended to piece together Legion's runtimes with the help of the geth consensus. Each of them found bits and pieces of his personality embedded into their own runtimes when he sacrificed himself to bring them full sentience. Every one of them copied the programs and helped rebuild Legion for her, as a thank you for the gift of life to them.

"Good to hear your voice, Legion, it has been a while. Keep monitoring the comm channels. We are going in with little intel on this run. We are ready to launch when you are. Legion, I want the special, since we have a guest passenger," Shepard told him.

"Acknowledged, Shepard."

She watched as the mass effect field engaged as the drop doors under the vehicle opened. All at once the vehicle dived, flying at full speed toward the planet, did a barrel roll that caused Stone to scream out like a little girl while Shepard cackled madly from the pilot's seat, with Legion doing stunt rolls the entire way. He straightened on landing and zoomed at full speed toward the coordinates given. Shepard heard a hacking sound. "You blow chunks in Legion and you're gonna be scrubbing him out with a sponge and a toothbrush until every speck is gone." She watched as Stone grabbed his helmet, jamming it on his head, and engaging the seals.

Legion came to a skidding sideways halt and Stone unbuckled his belt as fast as he could. Legion opened the door and Stone stumbled out, spewing out his breakfast as soon as he landed on his knees outside. Shepard walked out of the transport and the door closed behind her. She looked down at Stone and shook her head. She waited until after he was done and ran the decontamination cycle inside his suit.

"Comm check," Shepard said into her helmet. The voices of Legion, Feron, Alenko, and a very shaky Stone came over the line.

"What the hell did you do to the rookie, Shep?" came the chuckling voice of Kaidan Alenko across the line.

"He got the Legion Special on the way planetside." She could hear Alenko and Cortez howling with laughter over the comms.

"I'm going silent, taking a look around. Stone, stay near the transport, weapon ready. There is a facility but nothing seems to be moving around the perimeter. Legion, run a scan and see what you can find." Shepard pulled the sniper rifle off her back and activated the tactical cloak disappearing from sight.

 

* * *

 

She laid on the small ridge looking through the scope of her rifle; she still didn't see any activity. No alarms seemed to have been triggered. "Legion, is there any volcanic activity present under the facility?"

"Negative, Shepard. I am reading several life forms inside the facility, heat signatures are dropping. Recommend cautionary approach," Legion's voice came over the line.

"Acknowledged, Stone meet me at the entrance to the facility. We're moving in. Legion, arm up and be ready to get us the hell out of here if we hit a shit storm inside and come running."

Shepard hacked the door and Stone preceded her inside, assault rifle at the ready. Sweeping rooms to the left and right, they moved deeper into the facility. "Shepard, the terminal in the room to the right is active," Legion announced. She moved into the room and Stone guarded the entry. She hacked the terminal and scanned the data running down the screen. It made no sense to her.

"Legion, I'm downloading this to an OSD. I want you to scan it and tell me what the hell it is I'm looking at once we are back on the ship." She inserted the disk and it autoran the download of the data. Once complete, she popped it out and stored it inside a compartment in her suit.

They started heading toward the heat signatures again, getting worried as they went. There were no bodies, no signs of trouble. Legion told them the signatures were in the room to the right and the scans showed no explosives, other incendiary devices, or anything attached to the door. It wasn't even locked. She activated her cloak and changed her rifle for the SMG. "Go slow and sweep, Stone. Watch your step."

When they entered the room, they noticed it was some sort of lab. Broken tubes and other objects were on the ground and two bodies were on tables in the middle of the room. One was a salarian, the other one krogan. A groan came from the salarian; the krogan, on the other hand, didn't move. "Shepard, heat signatures dropped too low to support any organic life from one. The other one is failing rapidly." Shepard approached the salarian on the table.

"Bau? Jondum Bau?" she asked as she uncloaked.

The salarian's eyes opened, "Shep...ard." She frantically started patching him up with medi-gel.

"Legion, I need advice. Alenko we’ve got a medical emergency; it's Bau and he looks bad." A series of acknowledgments and rapidly given advice came across the comms. Stone was emptying out the medi-gel container on the wall and grabbing anything that looked like bandages from the shelves. "What's going on Bau, don't move. The Council sent me. They got your signal but nothing else."

"Dala...trass Linron, krogan ... new geno...phage. Proof compart...ment left leg." Shepard kept trying to patch him up. ~~,~~ Stone found the compartment and took out the data disk, slipping it into a compartment in Shepard's suit.

"Come on, my friend. Don't do this. Just hold on, help is coming," she said to him as his eyes slowly closed and his arm dropped to the side. Alenko found her covered in Bau's green blood, still trying to patch him up even though he had passed away.

"Shep, Shepard he's gone." Kaidan placed a hand on her shoulder, feeling it shaking under his gauntlet. She stopped and took a step back from the table, then grabbed the nearest object, throwing it against the wall and screamed her frustration out. It was all Stone could do not to back away from her as she tore the room apart in her anger.

They did a thorough search of the facility, finding nothing else, then wrapped Bau's body up in one of the body bags they found piled in a container. They didn’t know anything about the krogan but wrapped it up as well. They transferred both bodies over to Alenko's shuttle; he would take them back to the Citadel and inform the Council. They all squeezed into Legion and she uploaded the disk that they took from Bau. It was a video log of what was going on. There were parts of it where the dalatrass was clearly ordering them to recreate the genophage. Legion also found one of her ordering the murder of Bau. They didn't have time to fully scrub the database before leaving. She made a copy of both the disk and file and gave them to Alenko. She inserted the one she downloaded from the database. It was encrypted data so Legion would need some time to finish the decryption. By the time they were back on board Shepard's ship, it would be ready.

"I'll put a call through to the Council to let them know you are coming and I want you and those bodies guarded. Don't let them know there is more than one copy of those files. They better nail that bitch ~~'~~ s hide to the wall because if she gets away with this, I'm hunting her down and taking her head as a trophy," Shepard growled out as she walked with Alenko back to his shuttle. He nodded to her not even attempting to talk her out of it. He knew that she and Bau had become friends after the salarian helped to uncover a plot by an indoctrinated hanar to take down Kahje's automatic defense system. It would have left that world open to the Reapers if they hadn't stopped it. The drell species would be extinct within several years, as would the hanar if that had happened.

"When we reach the Citadel, you know Wrex will need to be informed about this. I'll try and keep him focused, but honestly you are the only one that seems to be able to handle him. He's going to go ballistic, especially if all she gets is a slap on the wrist," Alenko said to her as they leaned against the shuttle.

"If that happens, you let him know I'm going after her and I'll send him a holo of my new wall decoration." She shook his hand. "Take care Kaidan, safe travels to you."

"Same to you Shep. If you need anything just send a comm." She nodded her head and tried to give him a slight smile, failing miserably. Then turned and walked back to her own transport.

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Chapter, hope you are enjoying the story.

* * *

 

 

Feron was waiting for them outside of the cargo bay,  they had stripped out of their hardsuits and Shepard told Stone to put his in for cleaning first then to put hers in afterward. He didn't say much just nodded and did as he was told. She slipped on the sweats that she kept in the locker for after a mission and walked out of the bay. Since they didn't fire their weapons they didn't need to be cleaned,  it was one less thing she had to do at least.  
  
"Shep,  are you alright? Do you need or want anything?" Feron asked her as she passed him in the hallway. "I just want to get some clean clothes and take a shower right now Feron." She said to him,  strain and tiredness were clearly making her voice shaky,  her shoulders droop.  
  
She went into her quarters then came back out a short time later carrying a change of clothes. He headed toward the mess and took down a small tin of tea, it was a precious commodity to her, this blend was one that Thane always made for her and it was always made in very small amounts to keep it fresh. She brewed it very sparingly and only when she was under great stress. He heated water up in the machine and carefully placed an exact amount of leaves into the tea float. A few minutes later she came out and he filled the cup with water,  placing it and something she called a honey stick in front of her.  
  
She took a deep inhalation of the brewing tea,  closing her eyes and letting the aroma do its job. Feron moved around to her back and gently started to knead her shoulders,  working the tension knots from them. She had flashes of memories of the times she shared with Thane as he made this blend,  showing her the exact ingredients to use. Over and over since she kept forgetting.  She had a longer memory of the last time they shared it, the day she found him at the Hospital after receiving his message.   
  
***  
  
Six months, that was how long the Alliance had kept them apart. That time apart had taken a toll on his body and on her soul. The Alliance's refusal to allow her husband to visit or to contact her, her advocate lobbying constantly that they were violating her basic human rights. They continued not listening and keeping any outside source from learning what they had been doing to her,  until the day the Reapers came knocking on their door. After her escape from Earth she had EDI scour every possible database looking for him. It wasn't until she received a message from an unknown person with only information in it that he would know did she feel a weight come off her shoulders. He was alive.   
  
When she found him, she couldn't believe the difference in him. His body was failing rapidly now,  his frills so pale from lack of oxygen. His scales lackluster. They spoke for several minutes,  then he led her back to his room. He made their tea and shared news of what happened in the time apart. Then she led him to his bed, he warned her that he wasn't the same as he was before. His disease was robbing him of more then his breath. She only smiled at him then gently removed his loose clothing, kissing and stroking his body,  then she removed her own. Laying down by his side she continued to stroke and massage him,  his body slow to respond. That night was spent giving him pleasure. They both knew it would be for the last time. She left the next morning,  and it was one urgent mission after another keeping her away from his side. The next time she saw him it was when he placed himself between the Cerberus assassin and the Salarian Councillor. The last time was as he lay dying in the hospital bed less then 2 hours later from a mortal sword wound to his stomach.  
  
Feron watched Shepard,  knowing she was remembering, and he saw a single tear slide down from the corner of her eye. Making its way down her cheek to the corner of her mouth, then down her chin to drop onto the table. He moved to her side and knelt down, he touched her cheek and wiped the trail away,  carefully,  gently. Her eyes opened,  revealing her pain to him, "it's alright, Shep." She looked into his eyes then leaned her head toward his,  gently pressing their foreheads together for a few seconds. When she started to pull away,  he gave her a gentle kiss of compassion, then stood up.  
  
"Shepard, the decryption is complete. The data is part of a formula for the previous genophage,  there are modifications made to it. The cure that Mordin - Professor made was more complicated then what they had assumed it would be. According to the data we have, it is incomplete. But there are other facilities that were listed in the files that are also working on a modification to it,  the funds for them seem to be coming from the same source." She sat there, thinking as she removed the tea float, squeezed the honey from the small plastic stick into the cup,  then stirred it. Stone came out of the cargo bay and headed for the facilities.  
  
"Freeze that account along with every single one connected to it in any way. I want it locked up so tight that not a single credit can be squeezed from it until you release it. I want a copy of every account number and see if you can trace the locations of the facilities. If the Council fails to punish the murder of one of its best Spectre's then I want the intel and a copy of the vids sent to every remaining Spectre along with the Council's response. We'll go from there."  
  
She picked up the teacup and headed for the bridge to place the comm call to the Council, "Stone,  get up to the bridge. You're about to see just how the Council works."  
  
When Stone arrived she pointed to the nav chair, "have a seat. Listen but don't interrupt. Watch them,  look for their tells,  just like playing poker. Each one has a set of tells that if you watch close enough you can pick up on, learn to read them. It'll tell you when they are withholding critical information,  when they are flat out lying,  or in the very rare instances when they are being truthful with you. Remember these are politicians looking out for themselves first and foremost."

 

* * *

  
  
Shepard laid out every piece of information she had, she told them that Alenko was on his way to the Citadel with the bodies of both Bau and an unknown Krogan. She wanted guards on all of it.   
  
"You have proof of these accusations?" The Salarian Councillor, Valern,  interrupted her. She stared at him. "By now you fucking know that I don't make accusations without proof. It's on it's way to the Council and will be presented to you when Alenko arrives. And fair warning, if anyone attempts to stop him from making it there and presenting that data in any way,  I'll be the one to deal with them. No matter who he,  she or they are." Valern's eye lids twitched then he rapidly blinked upward.   
  
"How reliable is the source of this proof?" The Turian Councillor, Sparatus,  asked her,  glancing between Valern and her image. "Very. You could say it comes straight from the horses's mouth. We had just missed them by an hour,  almost as if they knew we were coming and when." His mandibles clicked and his talons on his right hand flexed.   
  
"Spectre Alenko will be escorted safely here, Shepard. We will inform you of our decision immediately upon reviewing this proof you have." The Asari Councillor, Tevos, told her. Her voice and actions were supposed to be placating, Shepard had liked her even less then she originally did after that whole fiasco with the Beacon that the Asari was hiding on their homeworld. The same Beacon, that had the other races known about, could have helped build the Crucible in a more timely manner and been ready for the Reapers, long before they had left a path of destruction across the galaxy. Shepard didn't say anything to her,  but narrowed her eyes at the Asari who nervously slid her hands down the sides of her dress.  
  
The new Human Councillor, Cal Johnson,  looked between her image and the other Councillors,  gave a brief nod to her and didn't say a word.   
  
The other Councillors moved away from the QEC,  Johnson was the last to go, " do what you need to do Shepard." Then he too walked off. Shepard cut the connection on the QEC.  
  
Stone sat in the seat,  still staring where the Councillors images used to be. "If I wouldn't know better,  I would swear that only the Human and Turian Councillor had no idea about what that Dalatrass was doing."  
  
"Picked up on that did ya?" Shepard said to him. "Legion, can you patch me through to Urdnot Wrex on a secure line,  we'll be in the cargo bay in a few minutes." She stood up, picked up her cup, "come on. Time for you to meet my brother." She walked down the hallway dropping her cup off in the mess, Stone right behind her. "Feron,  set a course for the Shadow Broker's ship. Contact, Agent T'soni, I am going to need to buy intel and it's not gonna be cheap." Feron stared at her then nodded. "Understood, I'll do what I can."  
  


* * *

  
  
"Hey, sis. Long time since I heard from you. Who's the whelp? Tell me that's not your new mate, if it is, you've lowered your standards. Don't forget you still got open breeding requests on Tuchanka,  about 400 more have been filed since the end of the war." Wrex's laughter boomed out across the comm line. "Yeah,  yeah laugh it up chuckles. Get it out of your system now Wrex,  the rest of the call is pure business of an important and disturbing nature." That last part caught the big Krogan's attention and his laughter died away rapidly."What's going on Shepard?"  
  
She told him everything they had found and let him know that Alenko was on his way to the Citadel,  they watched as Wrex growled and snarled,  opened a link on a terminal and had the Krogan Ambassador join in the chat. The Krogan leaders were now prepared with information they otherwise wouldn't have had access too. "Don't worry, Spectre. Spectre Alenko will be met at the docks by a squad of Krogan guards." Shepard inclined her head once to the diplomat and thanked him.  
  
"Listen Wrex, if things aren't handled by them don't let the Krogan get to hasty. Let me deal with the Dalatrass and any others,  since there was a Spectre murdered and I have proof of it, I can rally the others and go hunting. If the Krogan blow their tops it will make things more difficult. Trust me to handle this,  just like I handled getting your people the cure." Wrex growled at her. "We trust you Shepard,  you have always done right by us. The Krogan know this and you are the most respected Battlemaster there has ever been in clan Urdnot. I'll take care of things as best I can here. Take care of things on your end. If you need anything,  ask."  
  
Shepard disconnected the call a few minutes before the notice came of the relay jump. Feron hadn't wasted any time and had plotted the fastest course straight to the relays. "Shep,  we have 2 more jumps before reaching base. No stopping along the way and if no trouble appears,  we can be there in approximately 15 hours. Notification of our pending arrival was sent and we have clearance."  
  
"Thanks, Feron. Send a message to Alenko informing him that Wrex knows everything and a Krogan guard will be waiting. Go ahead and set up the autopilot, Legion can monitor everything remotely, now that Stone knows about him." Feron and Legion's acknowledgements came over the comm. "That's another thing Stone,  you are to tell no one about Legion. Especially the Council,  I have worked hard to get the Geth to be accepted as members of the Council Races. They are against one of the Geth being installed in anything other then mobile platforms when they are near the Citadel. They also don't want AI's in anything they don't or can't have access too. I lost Legion once,  I'm damn well not losing him again."  
  


* * *

  
  
Shepard spent hours going over all the data they had, putting together packets to be sent out to all the other Spectres. She also sat and made a list of things she would need Liara to look into,  that list seemed to keep growing the longer she sat at the table and the more coffee she consumed. Several hours in, Stone came and sat opposite her at the table. "When we arrive at the Broker's base,  you are to remain aboard this ship. Is that clear? It's for your own safety,  you are an unknown to the guards, and you never want to go wandering around that base alone. The Broker doesn't take to kindly to those that do. If you become a Spectre you will be using contacts to mediate between yourself and the Broker, you don't want to be called to a private meeting. Most people aren't seen again when that happens. Don't ever,  ever attempt to go to the base without receiving authorization and current coordinates."  
  
Shepard went back to going over the data again with Stone sitting there drinking a cup of coffee when Feron's voice came over the comm, "Shep, the Broker has extended an invitation for you to stay on the base for several days. Stone,  however,  is safer on the ship. He will be provided hot,  fresh cooked meals and will be escorted to the facilities if he wishes a hot shower instead of the sonic one provided here on the ship. The Broker also will give him access to a database with other vids ... made available." Shepard let out a snort and Stone colored slightly before clearing his throat.  
  
"Please send the Broker my gratitude and acceptance of the invitation. I wouldn't mind one of those hot showers myself." She told him, Stone chuckled. "You humans and your need for water showers." Feron snarked back to them,  Shepard only grinned. "Don't worry, I know for a fact there is a hot sand bath waiting for you there. The Broker never failed to have one ready for Thane. He was spoiled and pampered every time we stayed there."  
  
"Everyone was scared shitless of your husband,  that's why he was so spoiled." Feron told them as he came into the mess,  making himself a cup of coffee and leaning against the counter. She let out a chuckle and started the encryption process to secure the data on the datapad.  
  
"Just who was this husband of yours? I don't recall anyone in the Alliance mentioning him." Stone asked her after he returned to the seat from grabbing a bottle of water and a ration pack.  
  
"Thane Krios, an extraordinary man. A Drell, if you hadn't already guessed it. " Shepard told him,  a look coming into her eyes that Feron knew well,  she was remembering things from long ago.  
  
"Thane was raised away from home,  trained at an extremely early age to perform the profession chosen for him. He was the best at what he did,  it cost him though,  more then anyone could imagine. We met during the Collector business, fell in love and married before the whole Bahak relay incident. We were separated due to the Alliance refusing to let me contact anyone,  that included my husband by the way, no letters or calls. No visits from anyone other then the people assigned to either interrogate me or guard me. I was kept in the room, only allowed out to be interrogated. A window was my only source to see outside. When the Reapers attacked it took months to find him, then I only got to see him one more time before he was killed by an assassin. He was defending the Salarian Councillor when he was mortally wounded with a sword wielded by a human sent by Cerberus." Shepard got up,  rinsed her cup out then walked to the bridge.  
  
"Damn, if what she said about the Alliance is true ... that's breaking one of our fundamental laws." Stone said staring down into his cup.   
  
"It's all true and there is more to it, they kept them apart for 6 months,  and Thane was ill and dying at the time they met and married. They had only a limited amount of time to spend together as it was,  and the Alliance took away most of it. Why the hell do you think she never went back to them, refused to accept any promotions.  She threw the medals away they gave her in a trash can right in front of the Admirals and Defense Committee. The only reason you,  an Alliance soldier, is on this ship is because she was ordered to by the Citadel Council. If it was the Alliance and especially Hackett that asked her,  she would have told them to fuck off." Feron left Stone sitting on the seat and headed up to the bridge to join Shepard.  
  
She had the shutters to the windows down and was looking out at the stars, when he came up to the bridge. She didn't say anything but gave a slight twitch with her hand,  indicating she knew he was there. He sat down in the other chair, he wasn't sure if all the progress that was made toward her moving on was gone again or if it was just a slight setback.  
  
"I miss him so much Feron. The pain is still there,  the anger at all the time that was stolen from us. The frustration at the Hanar for not doing more to find a way for your people to live on that damn ocean world safely. The Salarians were supposed to be helping to find a cure for your people after Thane saved the Councillor,  but it seems they are more concerned with remaking the genophage, even though the Krogans have done nothing but rebuild their own world.  They are productive members of the galaxy,  and they saved all our asses during the war. The Council has access to so many worlds more suited to your species,  yet they won't give the Drell colony rights to them. It's one excuse after another. It's all bullshit. Sometimes I wonder why the hell I even bothered doing everything I did,  losing everything I did, to help these fucking people. They don't give a shit about me,  about what I lost. I'm getting tired of caring, Feron."  
  
"There are people out there that do care, Shepard. Kolyat, Liara, Garrus, Tali, me. There are plenty more. Those people that know what you have done, how you have saved them. Those normal people,  alive now because of you and your perseverance against the Reapers,  against those that stood in your way." Feron tapped on the arm of the seat, "maybe what you need is time away. A vacation from having to clean up everyone elses mess. Let them realize just how much you do, and how much they can't do without people like you. You take everything on your own shoulders,  no matter the species,  to do what you can to help. But there comes a point where you have to take a step back,  put things into perspective and decide what's best for you."  
  
She leaned her head back and closed her eyes,  listening to the sounds of the ship around her and to his breathing. Maybe he was right,  maybe she did need to just stop and take time for herself. Not like before, right after the war all she did then was wallow, but really take time and recharge. Even retire, say the hell with them all. What the hell would she do with all that time on her hands? She couldn't see herself taking up knitting or gardening,  hell every plant she ever had died from neglect.  
  
"What the hell would I do, Feron? All I have ever known is fighting. God,  I sound like Thane,  all he ever knew was how to assassinate every species known."  
  
"It would give you time to find out,  time to try other things. Go other places. You know you could stay with Liara, with ... me. There is plenty of space. I know all the good hiding spots on the Broker's ship,  if you didn't want to be bothered. Well, as long as that fucking drone isn't the one looking for you. Just think about it, please."  
  
She looked over at him, he was running the nail of his thumb along the top of the arm of the chair. "Feron? What's this really about?" She watched as he stopped,  then tapped the chair arm. His hand moved to the back of his head rubbing there. After a few seconds he moved it to his forehead pressing the heel of his hand between his brow ridges. "What I said was true. You need to take time for yourself." He gripped the arms of the chair tightly. "I want you to stay with me. I hate it when you come by and then leave. I have waited for years to give you time. I constantly worry when you are gone. I monitor the comm channels,  listening for any scrap of news,  listening for your voice. I make damn sure I'm in that vid room when you come to get your intel. I know you always go there to view the vids looking for more evidence,  clues, anything. I don't care if it's on the ship or somewhere else,  I just want to be with you. God's I'm so stupid for telling you this,  just forget it." He jumped up out of the chair and hurried toward the back of the ship, disappearing into the cargo hold.  
  
She turned in her chair and watched him haul ass through the ship, she debated on whether to follow him or just let him alone for a bit. What a mess. She sat there staring out the window some more, a vacation did sound pretty damn nice. Maybe after all this is done with,  the Dalatrass being stopped,  and that other mission for the Council. She could put in for an extended leave of absence.  
  
"Legion,  how long until we reach the Broker's base?" She asked as she reached over and pushed the button to raise and lock the shutters into place.  
  
"At the current velocity, and with no interference, 6 hours, 21 minutes and 45 seconds." Legion's voice told her from over the comm. " Thanks, Legion." She got up,  went to her room and set the VI to notify her when they were 2 hours out from the base. She also set a Do Not Disturb notice on the door then locked it. She sighed then stretched, changed into a tank top and shorts.   
  
She laid down on the bed and snuggled into her pillow,  she started to think about Thane, tried to remember his touch and scent. She closed her eyes and tried to picture his beloved face,  the sound of his dual toned voice whispering in her ear. She ran her hand over her breasts imagining it was his, the scales on his hand slightly rough. She bit her lip to keep herself from moaning as she rolled and pinched her nipple as he used to do. She used her other hand to skim her fingers down her flat stomach, over her thigh and up between her legs. Brushing over her center, she could feel the heat coming from herself. Slipping her hand under the elastic waistband, she used her fingers,  spreading her labia gently then running up the folds toward the nub that would bring her even greater pleasure. Slipping two of her fingers inside to stimulate more moisture and to rub it along those delicate folds, she stroked and pushed. Circling around the little bundle of nerves, her thoughts imagining a roughened tongue instead of her smooth fingers. She felt her inner muscles start to tighten, her hips rolling into her fingers. She began moving her fingers faster,  brushing over the little nub finally. Her breaths coming harder, she flicked her soaked fingers over the little bundle of nerves,  once,  twice,  the third time was the charm as her back bowed and her hips jerked into her hand.   
  
It wasn't until she was coming down from the high of her release when she realized the name she gasped out wasn't Thane's but Feron's.


	7. Chapter 7

* * *

 

She quickly got up from the bed and tore off the sheets, she couldn't believe she did that. It had to have been caused by Feron's lingering scent on the sheets and pillows. There was no other reason for it ... right? She jammed them into the small hamper along with the sweat soaked tank top and shorts. She slipped on the sweats she had on earlier, grabbed a fresh set of clothing again then practically ran for the small facility. She stripped her underwear off and rinsed them out then draped them on the sink,  after taking a quick shower,  she gathered her stuff then went back to her room. There would be no way she could lay in that bed now,  not yet, so she cancelled the request to the VI and headed back up to the bridge. Stopping to get a bottle of water and a nutribar from the locker on the way.  
  


* * *

  
  
_'How the hell could I have been so stupid?_ ' Feron sat in the pilot's chair of the transport. His head in his hand. His one leg was bouncing nervously. _'Why the hell can't I keep my mouth shut around her?'_  
  
"Legion,  how long till we get to the base?" Feron asked as he leaned his head back in the chair and tried to calm down. "5 hours 45 minutes 24 seconds. Inquiry, Feron,  if I may."  
  
"Shoot,  Legion. If I can answer I will." Feron told the Geth.  
  
"What do you want me to shoot? There are no hostiles present on this ship." Legion replied,  Feron felt the covering over the guns move and heard them being raised,  and he gave a laugh.  
  
"That's a common Human expression, in this case it means go ahead and ask your question." Feron settled back in the chair and sprawled his legs out in front of him as best he could,  waiting for the question. He liked Legion,  they had spoke several times when he was on board,  he remembered the day the Geth had brought Shep the transport and the way her eyes lit up and the tears fell when she heard her friends voice.  
  
"I was curious as to why you left the bridge so suddenly after your confession to Shepard. Onboard the Normandy, Thane made a confession as well,  but did not leave, according to video logs this led to what organics refer to as sexual intercourse. If that was your main reason for confessing that you wanted to stay with her,  why did you leave?" Legion's voice came through the speaker. Feron sat in silence,  unsure if he should answer that question or just tell him he didn't have a clue.   
  
"Legion,  it wasn't so that I could have sex with Shepard. My feelings for her are deeper then just wanting that. Sexual intercourse can be something with great meaning or just a way to pass the time without our emotions involved. I left because I didn't want to hear her reject me. She still loves Thane,  and I don't begrudge her that. It was selfish of me to even bring it up with her."  
  
"So you do not think she would return your ..." Feron could hear the pause,  knowing that Legion was searching for an organic term,"affections. And would not want to remain with you."  
  
"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up, Legion." Feron started to wiggle his leg around again and shifted in his seat.  
  
"That is illogical. If that was the case then why did Shepard just vocalize your name while she was performing self gratification instead of Thane's. Records from the Normandy clearly show that would have been Thane not you."  
  
Feron froze mid wiggle, "what ... what did you just say, Legion. I don't think I heard you right. She couldn't have... there must be something wrong with the audio equipment."  
  
"There is nothing wrong with the audio feeds, diagnostics have come back as normal." Legion responded,  he sounded a bit perturbed at Feron thinking there was actually something mechanically wrong with the ship.  
  
Feron wiggled around some more, "Legion. You wouldn't have happened to record the audio and video of that would you. You know for the logs, records." A slight smirk coming onto his face.  
  
Legion was silent then said, "yes, everything is recorded. Why do you ask?" The smirk turned into a smile as Feron leaned forward in his seat, "well, Legion,  since it technically concerned me. I would like to see it. To make sure of what you are saying,  you know since you aren't organic, you may be misinterpreting it." Legion was silent for several minutes, Feron thought he wasn't going to show him,  then the small holo screen popped up in front of him and started playing the file. He watched as she ground against her hand,  bucked her hips,  the low moans coming from her caused his cock to become painfully erect. He wished she had removed her clothes before doing it,  he wanted to see all of her. Then came the moment he was waiting for, her body became rigid and she arched off the bed,  and sure enough the moan of "Feron" spilled from those ripe lips. The video feed cut off and he eased back in the chair,  the leather of his pants making sitting there uncomfortable. He closed his eyes,  breathing rapidly.   
  
She really did it,  she called my name when she came. There has to be a reason why. There has to be a way for me to get her to act on it. I've already told her,  vocalized my possessiveness to her,  she knows it. Now how to go about doing it.  
  


* * *

  
  
When they arrived at the base Feron was quick to grab his duffle and leave, Shepard watched as he didn't even look back or wait for her. She reminded Stone not to leave unless he had an escort, then gathered a few belongings then locked her quarters down and headed for the room Liara kept for her in the private area of the ship.  
  
Liara was there waiting,  she gave Shepard a big hug noticing how tired she looked and pulled her over to the small table where she had put out a small meal. "It's good to see you, Shepard. I heard about Bau, I'm sorry. I wish I could have given you more information but there was just none to give. Someone went through a lot of channels to keep it quiet."  
  
"Hmm,  may want to take a closer look at the Council, both Tevos and Valern was acting pretty damn suspicious when I updated them. Legion has the information and vid files for you, hopefully it will offset some of the cost of the information I need. I'm not going to let that bitch get away with this, Liara." Shepard opened the container and breathed in the smell of fresh hot food, Liara always spoiled her when she came to the ship. They spent time catching up as Shepard ate and Liara told her about some of the news from a few of her old crew.  
  
"Thanks for making sure Stone gets some decent food and all. He pissed me off at first,  those remarks about Feron,  and then eavesdropping on my conversations with Kolyat. But he did catch onto the Council pretty quick, still not sure if he would be Spectre material. Not seen him in action yet on the battlefield, and this whole xenophobic bit won't fly, Spectres are multispecies and should show no speciesism." Shepard yawned and pushed the food container away,  stood up and stretched then went to the duffle and pulled out the datapad and handed it to Liara. "This is what I need you to look into, let me know the cost of it. If you wouldn't mind can we go over the job you need me to do in the morning, I haven't sleep in a while and when I did fall asleep that damn Stone turned on the vid player and blasted porn. Scared the hell out of us and woke us up, at least tonight I don't need to worry about that shit." Shepard started to dig into her duffle again, pulling out her toothbrush,  then headed for the small dresser where she kept various clothes. Grabbing a tank top and shorts she started to strip down, not caring Liara was in the room,  by now both of them were used to each other.  
  
Liara smiled a mischievous smile, and crossed her legs. "So shared a bed with Feron, eh?" Shepard jerked,  the toothbrush falling from her mouth and her foot caught in the leg hole. She fell on the bed with a squeak. "So spill,  how was it?" Liara watched as Shepard sputtered and turned very interesting shades of red.  
  
"What...what do you mean? We were on board the ship,  you know there isn't room for more then two, we had to make do." Shepard said,  her hands fumbling to unwrap her foot from the shorts so she could put them on right. "Uh huh,  that's why you look like that Earth fruit,  what's it called,  a tomato? All red." Liara smirked at her. "Shut it, Liara." Shepard said, but without any bite to it, there was no use in trying to fool the Shadow Broker,  that Asari could sniff out a secret half a galaxy away.  
  
"So, tell me." Liara giggled at her,  causing Shepard to raise an eyebrow,  Liara rarely giggled or laughed since taking over as the Shadow Broker. She was always busy, trading information,  gathering resources during the war. Helping as ground crew right along with it. When Feron went missing during the war, Shepard saw how anxious she was,  even more then when she learned he was alive and in the old Shadow Broker's hands. A Quarian team found him when he had activated a signal,  taking the chance when he and the small crew he had started to run dangerously low on food. They were able to get a Geth dropship to bring them enough levo rations to sustain them for the time it took to reach the Citadel,  what was left of it. It took another month for communications back and forth to locate Liara who sent a ship to get them and bring them down to Earth where she was helping to coordinate rebuilding efforts while Shepard healed.  
  
After Shepard finally got her shorts on, she sat on the edge of the bed, started chewing her lip. Glancing up at Liara who still had a smirk on her face she said, "I don't remember it." Liara's smirk slid off her face, "what do you mean you don't remember it?" Shepard leaned her forearms on her thighs, "just that Liara, I don't remember. I remember the bar and drinking. I remember talking to him, then the next thing I remember is waking up and realizing someone was in bed with me and I did something horrible,  I didn't even know it was him. I was so upset and ashamed with myself I tried to sneak out. I must have made noise or something, because he woke up, told me not to leave. I tried to attack him Liara,  blame him for that whole mess when it was all my fault. God he was so mad. I couldn't look at him,  he took that to mean I couldn't stand him." She stood up then bent down to pick up her toothbrush and set it on the dresser. "We talked about it somewhat,  came to enough of an understanding that we could at least act somewhat normally between ourselves and in front of others. Then I think I got him mad again, he took off from the ship as soon as it landed without looking back."  
  
Liara's tattooed on eyebrows drew down into a frown, she knew of Feron's infatuation with Shepard, had known since he was rescued from the old Broker. His memories and thoughts would spill forth in his delirium during the long recovery. The medical procedures he needed to fix all the damage to his internal organs and tissues along with bones was incredibly painful, when he became well enough to move around the ship he would often make sure to be where Shepard was. He went though a bout of deep sadness when Thane joined them during one of their visits. The other Drells subvocals clearly let Feron know Shepard was spoken for. Feron no longer intentionally sought her out but would stay in the video room. When he returned after the war,  he was saddened by Thane's loss and the emotional upheaval that Shepard was in. Liara saw him begin to try and get Shepard's attention, but she seemed oblivious. She decided to go have a talk with Feron.  
  
"Alright, I won't question you more about it ... for now. After breakfast in the morning we can go over the job I have for you and I'll go over the vids that you have,  get started on the information. In the meanwhile you should get some sleep and try and relax a bit." She stood up and picked up the tray, calling out a goodnight to Shepard who was sitting on the bed again with one leg curled up under her and staring at the floor.  
  
After she dropped off the tray in the kitchen area of the ship she headed back to the private area,  bypassing Shepards rooms and heading for Feron's who had one down the hall further. She seen the lock on the door and hit the entry button. When she didn't get an answer she pushed it and held it. "You either open this door or I'm having Glyph hack it and stay in there with you and follow you around all day tomorrow. There better not be anyone else in there with you,  if you know what's good for you." She waited for almost a minute and had just summoned the drone when the door unlocked.  
  
When she walked in the room was a mess,  clothes everywhere, terminals covering every flat surface. "What is going on Feron?" He glanced around and tried to both pick up the clothes and send the terminals to sleep before Liara could see what was on there. She beat him to one of the terminals, "Dating habits of humans: How to win a female human's love in 12 easy steps..."  She looked over at Feron who's frills were flushed an even darker shade of blue then normal and he wouldn't look her in the eyes. She turned to another terminal, "How to dress for love's success. How to find that perfect outfit to catch a woman's eye." She scratched her forehead and looked at him again. "Feron ... what the hell is this?" Just then another terminal beeped,  signalling a download was complete, " How to be that aggressive lover she's been begging for in bed. Going from lamb to lion between the sheets... I really don't even want to know ...."  
  
She turned away from the terminals and stared at him, "this is about Shepard isn't it?" He clutched the clothes closer to him, "yeah, I tried so hard Liara, to give her time to mourn. But the years kept dragging on, and when Kolyat contacted us... I didn't mean for it to happen. She ... one minute was in the seat, then next she was in my lap,  then we were in bed." He dropped the clothes and sat in the only empty chair in the room,  the others had terminals piled in them or were covered in discarded clothing. "God's Liara it was like a dream. Everything I could have hoped for. But then the morning came,  and so did her anger."  
  
Liara moved some of the clothing off of one of the chairs and sat down, "she told me some of it. She said she remembered nothing. Was she that drunk?"  
  
"I don't know,  she was drinking so much, we both drank but she just kept going until the bottle was empty. She wasn't walking straight,  I swear all I was going to do was take her to her apartment and get her to the couch or something then leave. But then she started to kiss me, and well." He shrugged."What am I going to do Liara? I ran my mouth asking her to stay here with me, or let me go with her. Then I flipped out and ran."  
  
"She thinks you're mad at her. You are making matters harder on yourself, Feron. Shepard doesn't care about your clothing,  she is used to the drell leathers and likes them,  trust me on that. I can almost bet every one of those 12 steps will actually push her further away." Liara crossed her legs and looked at Feron, "have you told her how you felt about her?"  
  
"I told her I wanted to be with her, I gave her the sub vocals,  she understood them because of Thane." Feron told her, his nervous habit of bouncing his leg started up.

"That's not what I meant, Feron. Have you told her that you loved her? Not that you just wanted her, that could be interpreted to mean all you want from her is sex."  
He rubbed the back of his head and just sat there. "Oh for Goddess's sake,  you haven't. Did you ever think that might be your problem right there? She is unsure of how you feel about her." She let out a heavy sigh then rubbed her forehead."Okay, she has that job coming up for me plus all this other intel she wants. Help me work on some of it, then you will be going with her to do that job.Try to work your way onto the ship for that Spectre job as well, plus the apartment on Nos Astra. That's been cleaned and is ready for when that layover between those two jobs happens. Now, I will trade some of that intel for more jobs,  give you a bit more time with her. And for the love of the Goddess, tell her how you feel,  how you've felt about her, for as long as you've known her. Touch her at every possible opportunity,  small brushes of your hands or longer if you can,  you need to get her to want your touch. Then get her into bed again, this time make sure she remembers it." Liara stood up,  shaking her head at him then walked out of the room, "and clean up this mess."   
  
'He's hopeless when it comes to her,  he's going to need all the help he can get.' Liara thought to herself while making her way to another part of the private section of the ship,  she sat at her desk and started to really think about helping both of her friends. They both deserved happiness,  and she was damn well going to try to help them find it. ' _12 steps to ...Goddess, I just can't believe him.'_  
  


* * *

  
  
The next morning Liara met Feron and Shepard for breakfast,  one of the Broker's guards was pushing a cart piled high with food containers and was heading toward the docking bay. Liara had set up the table so the only space available was across from her for the other two to sit, everything else had datapads piled up on it. "Okay, first off the Broker's job offer." She slid the datapad across the table, Shepard read it as she ate, she paid no attention to the way Feron kept inching his way closer to her. She never seen the way Liara rolled her eyes at him. "Okay,  this looks like a normal grab for some intel. Not going to be a problem. Since the Broker wasn't able to provide any information that I had requested before originally accepting this job,  do you think he can give me a slight discount on the other stuff? Stone eats more in one day than I do in a week,  and the Council isn't footing the food bill for him."  
  
"I think that would be acceptable, plus you gave additional intel that was not available to him,  so that earned you some credits. Now, he is putting forth another offer, since you are in need of quite a bit of intel,  he is offering an exchange... of sorts. If you are willing to do some other jobs for him, all within the guidelines, then he will provide to you intel on this at a deep discount." Liara gathered up one of the stacks of datapads,  pushed them over to Shepard. "Look through these, what ever you are willing to do in exchange will earn you credits toward the intel you need. There is one other caveat,  Feron is to go with you. He will be able to access the Broker's files through a special connection with Legion,  from there he can transfer any intel to and from you. You will be provided with several crates of provisions for him, more will be made available if you need it." She watched as Shepard paused in her chewing and her hand holding the datapad shook. Shepard gave a nervous jump as one of the guards dropped their tray by accident.  
  
"Liara,  my ship isn't equipped to handle 3 people. The Broker knows this." Shepard's voice was shaky and she started to gulp down her coffee to cover it.  
  
"That's the deal that was set forth, having Feron on board will give you the means for faster access of the intel. Also the sooner the Broker can be given intel the more of a discount you can get. He is willing to wait until all the other business concerning the Spectre candidate is over,  however maybe you can squeeze in a job or two in between. And Shepard,  don't forget the apartment on Nos Astra is available to you when you need to restock and take a short break. There is plenty of room there for the two of you and I will be happy to supply you with the essentials you need. Look at it like this also, you told me you needed to evaluate Stone in the field, this will give you more ways to do that."  
  
Shepard thought about it, she needed that intel but knew even with the prices that Liara gave to her, it would cost more then what she would make with the Council in several years. But damn if she was going to let that Salarian bitch get away with killing her friend and trying to neuter the entire Krogan race again. "Alright, if Feron agrees with this, it's a deal. Hand me all of those datapads and let me get to looking through them,  by the end of lunch I should have the ones I'm willing to take on separated out. We can go from there." She pushed her plate to the side and started reading the pads, Liara stacked what must have been over 40 on the table in front of her.   
  
Feron got up and made his way to the hallway of the private area where he leaned back against the wall, Liara did it. She got him on board that ship and did so in a way to insure he was there for quite a while. Now all he had to do was not fuck this up. He went to pack up clothes and other items to have them ready for when they left in the morning.  
  


* * *

  
  
Shepard sent Kolyat a message,  outlining in non classified ways that the shit hit the fan and she was going to be gone for a while. She asked that he move into the apartment on a temporary basis to take care of the pets and to make sure no one messed with her stuff. She transferred more money to the credit chit she left for him. He bitched and moaned then asked what was going on with Feron. She ignored his question and told him she had to go, and to stay out of her hot tub. She told him she loved him and missed him,  then disconnected the call.  
  
When they gathered once again for lunch Shepard had the datapads in piles all laid out in front of her. The one she had already accepted she had taken to her room so it didn't get mixed in. Feron carried over a tray for her, sliding it toward her,  she looked up and smiled at him. He blinked and a light trill was heard, which caused her to raise an eyebrow. He quickly retreated and gathered up his own tray joining her at the table as they waited for Liara to show up.   
  
Liara came rushing in a few minutes later,  complaining about the amount of vids that Stone had downloaded. Legion had notified her and they needed to purge some of the data base, he was more upset with having to lose other data to make room for organic sexual displays then anything else. Shepard put her head in her hand and they could hear a chuckle start from her. "Legion, you there?" Shepard said after activating her comm link behind her ear.  
  
"Yes, Shepard. Please tell me you are going to do something about these vids. We are losing valuable data storage space at an alarming rate." Shepard let out another chuckle,  since Legion had been rebuilt his runtimes were acting more and more like organics. Even EDI was the same way. "When we leave in the morning, purge out all of the those unwatched old porn vids,  go by date they were installed. Please let the normal ones that were installed by me, from my personal vid folder alone."  
  
"Acknowledged, Shepard. I have also began running pricing inquires about upgrading the storage capacity, if Lieutenant Stone will be a passenger for an extended time we will need it." Legion sounded rather perturbed at having to constantly purge the system because of Stone's taste in vids. This caused everyone at the table to start to laugh. When Shepard got herself back under control she told him to also see if there was a way to soundproof the room, or her room, she really didn't want to hear that more then necessary. Feron flushed a bit,  remembering how she had snuggled against him that night when Stone woke them up playing porn.  
  
As they were eating they spent more time catching up, Shepard telling Liara about the happenings on the Citadel. Liara smirked then asked how her date went, which caused a very low pitched growling sort of hum come from Feron and Shepard laughed,  telling her the poor guy just wasn't her type. When they were done, Shepard pushed two of the piles back toward Liara, "these are not one's I'm prepared to do with a rookie by my side. To many things can go wrong if I don't know and trust the one watching my six on these." Liara nodded and moved them to the side, that left a majority of the job files on Shepard's side of the table.  
  
"These, I'll do. Most are quick grabs that I can pull off on my own. Liara,  this may take a bit of time. But I'll get then done as quickly as I can. Three of these are ones that are recon's and will take a few days to complete alone. A couple are the ones for simple trading of intel or pickups. The intel I'll have Legion upload as soon as we hit a comm buoy,  the items will be packed and dropped off in Nos Astra for delivery or if we happen to be close enough,  can bring them straight here."  
  
"Shepard, I'll give you access to any intel as soon as I get it, I know you will finish those up as you can. Just be careful and don't take on too much. You know I'm willing to give you more intel for nothing, you have never asked for favors. I know this is important to you." Liara leaned in dropping her voice to a low whisper.  
  
"I know Liara,  but we need to keep this as business, otherwise it can get messy." Shepard whispered back to her,  Liara looked at her then nodded and dropped her eyes.  
  
"I'll take these to the ship and start having Legion plot courses for them. I think we can squeeze in one maybe two between the job for the council and that intel grab for you. Then to Nos Astra,  maybe another one on the way to the Council to report about Stone." Shepard had started to get up when Feron got up at the same time bumping into her. He grabbed her to keep her from falling,  holding onto her for a bit longer then was strictly necessary. Liara gave a quick smirk, then stood up and gathered up the other datapads.  
  
"I'll grab my gear from my room and go with you to the ship, if you don't mind waiting a few minutes." Feron said,  he still had her by the waist with his one hand,  the other one he had dropped to his side. She nodded to him and he hurriedly dropped his hand and grabbed up their trays while she picked up the datapads. She was waiting in the hallway when he came out with a large duffle slung on his back. "We'll have to spend some time trying to get you situated in the quarters. It's going to be a bit crowded until I can get Stone to the Council,  then we can move things around so you have the other room." She turned and started down the hall not seeing the frown on his face, he wasn't planning on moving into that other room. Stone there or not.


	8. Chapter 8

* * *

 

 

They spent the time between lunch and dinner transferring the data to Legion,  who would still let out an electronic grumble about the loss of data space. They were getting Feron set up, they squeezed several sets of his leathers in the closet and she moved some of her other clothing from the drawers, he told her he didn't need much in the way of drawer space though. As she watched him unpack she seen why,  he had several sets of sleeping shorts and a couple of pairs of sweatpants. Nothing else. When he went to the bathroom to put his hygiene needs in the basket she looked into the bag. Nope,  she didn't imagine it,  no underwear or compression shorts. He was going commando. She knew Thane did also under the leathers,  there was no room for any type of extra clothing under them. But he did have human boxers for when he was wearing shorts or sweats. She swallowed then scratched her forehead. Feron went into the cargo hold and brought up a small container that had once had ration packs in it, using that he put the rest of his clothing into it and slid it into the corner of the closet under the hanging clothing.  
  
Shepard reminded Stone they were leaving in the morning after breakfast. He told them to send his thanks to the Broker and his people,  the food was the best he's had in a long time and they have been really good to him. He blushed a bit at that last part and Shepard raised her eyebrow.  
  
That night at dinner Shepard watched as 2 Asari piled up containers of food on a cart and started giggling as they pushed it toward the docking bay. She started laughing,  figuring out just how good the Broker's people were being. Liara smirked at her. "Liara while I think of it, I'm going to need more sheets for that bed. The 2 I have just won't cut it with Feron there as well, with his scales shedding once in a while like Thane's did its going to become an issue after a while. You wouldn't happen to have several extra sets somewhere would you?"  
  
Liara brought up her omni tool and started searching the database, then punched in a few codes. A short time later, a human male delivered three more sets of sheets along with a spare sand heater and container containing everything Feron would need to take care of his scales to the ship.  
  


* * *

  
  
Shepard was sound asleep, sprawled out on the bed when her omni tool pinged an urgent message coming in. It took her a few seconds to get her brain to work before she opened up her omni tool.  
  
"Caller identify." She croaked out,  then coughed to clear her throat.  
  
"Councillor Sparatus. It's urgent Shepard." Came the reply. Shepard sat up in bed, "accept voice only. What's wrong Councillor?"  
  
"That job we requested of you that concerned Stone, we need for you to get there immediately. We got another distress signal less then 5 minutes ago. Another Spectre. None of the other Councillors have been notified, so if the same thing happens with you getting there just after they left we know there is a leak somewhere that needs to be plugged up as you humans say. We can't afford to lose more Spectres." Shepard rubbed her face then stood up. "Acknowledged, we'll be on the way there within the hour, keep me posted, Councillor."  
  
She slipped on her clothes then sent a message to Liara letting her know, then ran down the hall to Feron's room. She buzzed the entry code and it took him a minute to answer, "Shepard? What's going on?" He asked sleepily, he was only in a set of low rise shorts and scratched his chest as he asked,  her eyes drawn to the shine of the multicolored scales and scars. "Get your ass in gear we got an emergency." He backed into the room and she entered and looked around.   
  
"What do you mean emergency?" He grabbed a set of leathers from the closet and stripped out of his shorts,  she whirled around so fast she almost fell. He just yawned and pulled on the leathers.  
  
"Another distress from a Spectre. We have to get going, so need you to hurry." She heard him come up behind her,  he leaned in and whispered in her ear,  his warm breath stirring the small hairs on the back of her neck. " You didn't need to look away. We are going to be sharing a room, nudity will happen and it's best to get used to it as quickly as we can. I don't mind if you want to look at me." He nuzzled her hair then backed away,  grabbing up a small case."I'm ready, let's go."  
  
Liara met them at the docking bay, she had on the set of sweats that Shepard had bought her as a gag gift from Earth last Christmas, grey with a giant smiley face on it that said, "Don't Worry Be Happy!" on the shirt. She handed each of them a large bag stuffed with food items and other things. "Let me know if you need anything. Keep in touch." She said to Shepard and gave her a hug, she also gave a short hug to Feron.  
  
"Legion, get us the hell out of here,  fastest possible course to the Eagle Nebula, we are heading for the Jarrahe Station. We may need your help remotely there,  the last time I was there,  it was taken over by a rogue VI that killed all the inhabitants and I had to shut it down." Shepard headed back down the short hall leading toward the bunk rooms and hit the entry chime for Stone's room. "Stone get your ass up, we got a problem here."  
  
Feron dropped the case and bags off in their quarters while Shepard filled a still half asleep Stone in on what was going on. When he heard it was another distress from a Spectre he frowned and came awake pretty quick. Feron handed Shepard the food container and coffee thermos from her bag,  then shoved a container toward Stone. He didn't like the fact that Stone didn't bother getting dressed,  he was standing there in a set of human boxer shorts and nothing else.  
  
"So again this is a blind situation,  all we know is location and that a Spectre is involved." Stone said as he stretched and scratched his side.   
  
"I'm working on it, who ever is behind this shit is covering their tracks. That means a lot of credits are being moved or some serious favors are being called in." Feron growled out,  staring at between Stone who started to lean against the counter,  seemingly not interested in putting clothes on and Shepard who was in a tank and pair of loose pants,  her midrift showing.  
  
"Legion,  what's the time on arrival to the station?" Shepard asked, leaning against the table beside of Feron,  which seemed to calm the growling down that was coming from him. "1 hour 10 minutes. The Broker has just sent a notice of more intel. The distress call had a Turian secondary signal embedded in it registered to Spectre Tytus. The distress signal lasted approximately 10 minutes before being interrupted."  
  
"Alright, don't slow down until we reach the station,  we'll go in hot with the transport. Be ready to remotely access the databases and mine them. Protect yourself and the ship, Legion. Stone check your weapons then suit up,  finish your food. No Legion special this time, finding the Spectre is top priority,  then figuring out what the hell is going on."  
  
Stone turned and headed back to his room, stuffing his face with the food that Liara had sent along. Shepard started to go the same way when she felt Feron slip his hands around her waist. She stiffened but didn't pull away. "What?",  she whispered. He gently pulled her back to him,  he didn't say a word to her. She felt his hands flexing against her skin and the heavy breathing from him near her ear.   
  
"I didn't like him being so close to you. Just give me a minute. We have to talk later. When you have enough free time. I am not mad at you, not in any way." She felt him nuzzling her hair again, his fingers brushing her waist and stomach. "Have you remembered anything from that night?" He felt her shake her head and felt a stab of disappointment."Hmm,  maybe we need to spend more time, together. I want you to remember,  everything." His hands were moving over her stomach and waist again this time with more pressure. Pushing her back against him, she heard a slight moan from him and felt her nipples harden. She also felt the hardening of his cock against her ass. "Don't pull away, please. Just another minute." He dropped his head to the crook of her neck,  breathing in her scent,  she felt the purring hum from him of his arousal. Her breathing sped up and he could smell the scent of her own arousal starting to surround them.

"You have to stop, Feron. Stone could come out of that room at any time." She felt the growl again,  and he pushed his straining erection tighter against her. She reached up stilling his hands, as they had started to inch their way up under her shirt,  he flexed them a few more times then started to relax his hold, sliding his lips up across her ear and nuzzled the top of her head. She ran her thumbs across the backs of his hands then stepped away from him.  
  


* * *

  
  
"I am registering 5 heat signatures,  one of which matches Turian physiology. Uploading map and locations of each signature to your HUD. Disabled VI to other transport docked at the station. No other way off other then our ship. The mainframe is active,  blocking procedures to wipe the data core as we speak. In order for the data to be deleted they must destroy the mainframe's core. Mining of data now in progress." Legion kept them updated as Shepard and Stone moved through the base,  they headed straight for the Turian signature. They ran across one of the other signatures,  a merc poorly armed, Stone took him out with little difficulty. They reached the Turian,  and shot the merc that had a gun trained on the other Spectre. By what they overheard he was waiting for orders on what to do with the Spectre,  too bad no more communications would be going out or coming in.  
  
"Tytus?" Shepard asked,  as she reached down and used her suit to transfer some of the dextro safe medigel she kept in her suit for emergencies to his own."Yeah, Shepard. The Council got my signal then?" At her nod he breathed out a sigh of relief, " we need to get this disk back to the Council. It was all I was able to retrieve before I got careless and was caught."  
  
"We have a data mine in progress, if there is anymore on that core,  we'll find it. But we still got 2 problems on this ship to deal with, hopefully we can get one of them alive at least, I have questions." She watched as the Turian struggled to his feet,  picked up the merc's rifle then fell into step behind her. She gave a small smile, gave him the comm channel code. Then headed for the last two signatures,  both of them coming from the room that was marked as a lab.  
  
They quickly entered to see the two at the terminals trying to wipe the drive,  but nothing will get around a Geth if they don't want it to,  those two stood no chance to wipe that core. "Don't move unless you want the back of your heads to disintegrate. Get your hands up and take two steps back from the terminals, if you so much as twitch then my finger will twitch on the trigger." The other two with her kept their weapons trained on the Salarians now standing still as statues with their hands in the air.  
  
"Who are you and what are you doing in this facility. It was shut down on Spectre Authority. Who sent you here? " One of the Salarians moved and Shepard put her rifle right into his face in perfect alignment to his right eye. "Move again."  
  
"We were told to run tests, nothing else. They put us and those mercs on a ship and set the VI to bring us here. Once here a VI told us what tests to perform and when. We received shipments of tissue samples and ran the tests as we were told too. Then send the results on a secure line,  that's all."  
  
"Legion,  you about finished with that data mining? We have two prisoners that we need to get on the transport to the Citadel for more questioning." She seen the nervousness increase when she mentioned the Citadel. "Mining finished,  will proceed to decrypt. Councillor Sparatus has been notified on private line. Is awaiting his Spectre and the data retrieved."  
  
"Acknowledged. As soon as we get these two locked up and I tend to the Spectre's wounds we'll head out." Shepard nodded to Stone who used special cuffs to bind the two scientists. "Strip out of that suit and let's see what we got,  I still have some medigel on me." She walked over to the cabinets and started to rifle through them looking for some medical supplies after she helped to pop the seals on his armor. The Turian stripped down to his undersuit and lowered the top half to his waist. Stone kept his rifle on the two scientists.  
  
She took a look at the wound on his carapace. "Doesn't look too bad,  your carapace and armor reflected some of it. One of your plates was damaged from the exit wound though. You're gonna need to get it fixed at the hospital when you get to the Citadel,  there isn't much I can do other then to clean it and remove the debris so it doesn't get worse." She seen Stone glance over looking at the Turian,  she doubted he ever seen a Turian without his armor on before. " Looks like you're gonna have another nice scar added to that collection, Spectre." She said to him as she cleaned out the wound and applied the last of the medigel. She heard him give a laugh and his mandibles click. "All done."  
  
"Thanks, Shepard, I owe you a drink the next time we're both on the Citadel. " She laughed, "it's a date,  big guy." They waited as he transferred the prisoners to his ship,  double checking their cuffs. She pulled him aside, "that data is to be only given to Sparatus,  something is going on and I suspect two of the Council. Keep an eye on your six, Tytus. We already lost one Spectre and almost lost you." He gave a brief incline to his head. "Yeah,  I heard about Bau. You think this is all connected?"  
  
"Yeah something is going on,  this place was a mission given to me to test out that rookie back there to see if he is Spectre material,  then Bau is hit. Then I get a late night emergency from Sparatus to haul my ass here because another Spectre sent out a signal. We got Salarians doing tests on "samples" and a crazy Dalatrass wanting to start the genophage back up. There is a lot of creds being moved on this one."  
  
"Understood, I'll pass the warning along. I was following a lead on some missing scientists, I bet anything it's those two we got locked up." He said to her,  his mandibles pulled in tight. "Damn, the damage it's going to do if they release another genophage. The Krogan are really gonna be pissed."  
  
"I'm handling the Krogan as best I can,  they already know about the Dalatrass,  they agreed to let me handle it. The shit will really hit the fan if the Council fails to do anything with that evidence I sent with Bau's body. Sparatus hasn't told me anything about it yet,  and they should be there by now. Keep an ear open on the comm for any news about Spectre Alenko,  if you hear anything you can get a message to me through the Shadow Broker, no charge to you, I'll pick up that tab."  
  
They waited until Tytus was underway heading toward the relay, "Legion, I want that datacore wiped if you got everything off of it. I want no results left that anyone coming behind us can find. Nothing. Do a backtrace if you can for wherever they were sending their test results too. We'll do a quick sweep looking for any data left then we'll head out." She received an acknowledgement then the two of them moved from room to room looking at everything, gathering up or destroying what they needed to.  
  


* * *

  
  
"Liara, I'm sending you a copy of the decrypted data we got from the data core. Keep it safe along with the others. We're heading out to do that first job for the broker,  then I'm heading for the Citadel. I need to find out what's going on with Alenko,  he should have arrived by now,  and I haven't heard from him or from the Krogans either. I'm starting to get worried." Shepard and Feron were sitting in the transport, transferring the data to Liara over the secured connection,  via the small case that Feron had brought on board.  
  
"I'll keep my contacts on the Citadel digging for intel about Kaidan, let me know when you finish up that job. If any of the Spectres sends a message for you I'll make sure to pass it along." Liara was busy typing away on a terminal in front of her and scanning another to the side.   
  
"Sounds good,  take care Liara." Shepard said to her and gave her a smile when she looked up. "Both of you take care as well."  
  
Legion informed then the Broker's job location will take 3 hours 15 minutes to reach from their current location. "Okay,  thanks Legion, send a wake up call in 2 hours, I need a nap." Shepard yawned as she got up from the seat,  Feron following behind her. He was hot on her heels as she went into their quarters. He had already made up the bed with fresh sheets and decompressed the pillows. She sighed when he showed no signs of leaving,  she slipped out of her shoes and laid on the bed,  snuggling up to her pillow. She heard him rustling around then the bed dipped behind her. "Feron,  what are you doing?" She asked him, she felt his arm drape over her waist. _What the hell is he up to?_  
  
"Taking a nap also, I got as much sleep as you did if not less." He waited and when she didn't say anything,  he snuggled up behind her,  pulling her in tight to his body. A few minutes later she felt him inch his hand little by little up under her tank top. She placed her hand over his, he stilled and let out a sigh. She grinned then settled down to take her nap.  
  


* * *

  
  
Shepard activated her tactical cloak and made her way through the small Eclipse base,  carefully darting between crates and containers until she found the terminal she was looking for. She inserted the OSD into the slot and activated the hack and download program Liara gave her. She kept an eye on the Eclipse mercs wondering around the base,  most of them were just lounging around sitting on whatever crate happened to be unoccupied at the time. She watched as what must have been several of the higher ups come out of a small portable shelter and directed some of them to load a few of the crates into the transport that was waiting.  
  
Her omni tool vibrated on her arm signalling the download was complete. She grabbed the OSD and started to leave when some of the mercs headed directly toward her with a hover pallet, she moved as silently as she could toward the exit. Overhearing about deliveries to outposts in the Terminus that sounded familiar to her. She would have to talk with Legion once she got back on board the transport.  
  
When she got back on the ship, Legion had informed her the names she heard were ones that were connected to that account she had him freeze. "They must be desperate now they are turning to mercs and the black market to get the stuff they can no longer buy,  wonder what they are trading for." She handed the OSD to Feron and watched as he loaded it into the terminal in the case and started to run the decryption software.  
  
"Maybe there's a list or something on this,  we just have to wait until its done,  then I have to upload it to the Broker. I already sent notice you got the data." Feron handed her a ration pack and a bottled water. Settling on the seat opposite her at the table, "there are two jobs that could be done on the way to the Citadel, it will give the Broker time to hunt down intel on Alenko. One is another data run,  the other is a pickup." She nodded to him while sucking down a tube of peanut butter flavored nutri paste and reaching for another one. After she was finished,  he stood up gathering up the trash and disposing of it,  turned to her with a smirk on his face and reached into the inner pocket of his coat. She quirked her eyebrow at him as he slowly withdrew a small bag. He turned the label toward her and her eyes almost popped from her head. "Feron ... how the hell did you get those? They don't export those from Earth." She watched as he carefully opened the bag and withdrew a single dark chocolate covered cherry. Hand dipped and only made during the peak of ripeness from one of the only remaining cherry tree farms on Earth. He tucked the bag back into his pocket.  
  
"You want it?",  he asked huskily as he watched her lick her lips. She could almost taste that delicacy. She raised her eyebrow again but didn't take her eyes off the piece of goodness he was gently holding between his thumb and index finger. She nodded and watched as a grin came over his face. "Come here, " he whispered to her,  she slowly got up and went to him. She could hear the hum of arousal from him again. " You can have it for one kiss. Do you agree?" He raised his brow ridge and waited. He watched her nose wiggle as the scent of real chocolate filled the air, she licked her lips again and nodded. "Mmm,  open your mouth then, Shepard." He slipped the piece of candy between her lips,  his index finger brushing her bottom lip as it withdrew from her mouth. Her eyes closed as the heat from her mouth started to melt the chocolate. His hands pulled her closer to him as he leaned down,  pressing his lips to hers. His tongue gently pressing on her lips seeking entrance. When she groaned and leaned into him he slipped his tongue inside,  the dark rich taste of chocolate burst on his tongue. He pushed the cherry to the side of her mouth with his tongue then proceeded to kiss her with all the pent up longing he had for her. His hand moving down to her ass to pull her even tighter to him. Her nipples hardened against her shirt,  her hands clutched at his jacket. His other hand slipped under her tank and ran up her back.  
  
"Shit,  sorry guys." They broke off the kiss as Stone came in and interrupted. Feron pressed his forehead on top of Shepard's head,  trying to calm his rapid breathing. Slowly drawing his hand back down and out of her shirt. Stone hurried to grab several ration packs and water bottles the retreated quickly back to his room. She started to pull away from him when he whispered, "don't move yet. That was one hell of a kiss, Shep. I need a minute or two to, hmm, get myself back under control." She could feel his erection pulsing against her lower abdomen even through his leathers. He took several deep breaths, finally removed his hand from her ass and let her step back.  
  
"Did you enjoy the ... candy?" He asked, the slight pause he gave indicated he was asking something very different. She smirked at him, "the candy was delicious. As for the other treat, well, I'm undecided yet. I may need to try some more later." He blinked at her, a slow smile spread across his face. "That can be arranged, Shep. Plenty more where that sample came from."  
  
"Legion, how soon do we reach our first stop?" She leaned back on the table across from Feron. "2 hours, Shepard. From there it is 3 hours to the next destination. Then 6 hours to the Citadel."   
  
"Thanks, Legion." She looked back to Feron, "the first one is the pickup, the datapad didn't have a whole lot for me to go on. Do you know who I'm supposed to be meeting?" Feron closed his eyes as he searched his memory. " Standard pickup, dock at a small facility. Be met by a contact, Hallis. Male,  human. Picking up 2 crates. Both should be sealed,  unbroken,  marked with Broker's symbol. Check over the containers carefully for any signs of tampering or tracking devices. Once checked and approved use code provided on datapad,  each one is unique to that job. Do not let anyone else onboard the ship, must move container yourself or have one of your crew do it. Full armor and weaponry recommended. Crates are to be taken to designated drop location for payment on delivery." Feron blinked rapidly.  
  
"What the hell was that?" Feron heard Stone say from inside the small mess area. Shepard started to laugh, " Stone, you never met an actual Drell before have you?" She grinned when he rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head no. " Drell have perfect memories, eidetic, they can remember everything they have seen,  heard,  smelled etcetera since almost right after their birth. He just told me what was on the actual file not just the datapad that I was given."  
  
"Everything?" Stone asked a sound of incredulity to his voice. Feron nodded, " yes,  everything and we can pull forth the memory and relive it. If I thought of a time I ate a piece of fruit for example,  I can remember exactly the smell,  the sweetness on my tongue,  even how it felt in my hand as I put it in my mouth. Right down to the smallest detail."  Feron leaned back against the counter and crossed his feet at the heels, arms across his chest. He gave Stone a smirk, "it comes in really handy when we are with our lovers, imagine being able to get them to moan and scream out your name each and every time, all the while begging you for more. Our males are very addicting to the females of other species,  especially the human women." He grunted as Shepard rapped him in the stomach with the back of her hand. "Of course there is the unfortunate side effect of our venom on some of them. That can get pretty messy if they don't have a tolerance or immunity built up to it."  
  
"Venom? You guys are poisonous?" Stone cringed. Shepard laughed and poured herself a cup of coffee. "Their venom is an hallucinogen,  think LSD from old Earth. It can give you a good trip or an incredibly bad one. The next time you are on the Citadel,  I'll give you taste of a Weeping Heart from the bar. It's made from a synthetic version of their venom. You can see the effects for yourself." Stone scratched at his forehead, "so let me get this straight, not only can they get a woman begging for it they can make them higher then kites while doing 'em?"  
  
Feron's grin spread wide across his face, " then there is the size difference, ridges, along with the whole stamina and multiorgasmic thing we do." Stone shook his head, "yeah, more information then what I really needed there buddy." Shepard only laughed and headed for the cargo hold to get her armor back on.

* * *

  
  
"Stone,  put your helmet on,  and keep it on. I don't like the feel of this." Shepard whispered to him as Legion ran a scan of the docking area before they landed. She told Feron over the comm that her neck hairs were up and that was never a good sign. Legion moved the transport vehicle to just out of sight of the cargo bay doors and trained the weapon systems on the area right in front of the docks. She put on her own helmet, a full coverage one, that also disguised her voice. They had spent a good twenty minutes colorizing Stone's armor to hid all traces of Alliance emblems and colors. When they were working on it she told him Thane always joked about her being one of the only professional thugs in custom painted armor he ever met.  
  
"Be on alert, Stone. Legion keep the scans up and running." The ship landed with only a slight bump as the docking clamps attached. Legion overrode the controls as soon as they did so, they wouldn't be able to keep them from taking off. The cargo bay door opened and Stone took a step in front of Shepard and swept the area, Legion was constantly scanning for any hostile activity. As they moved down the ramp,  a human male approached them. "That's Hallis." Came Feron's voice over the comm link.  
  
"I'm here for the pickup, " Shepard's distorted voice came through the filter on her helmet. "I was expecting someone else to come for the pickup as usual, who are you?" Hallis said to her.  
  
"I'm here for the pickup." Was all Shepard repeated.  Hallis looked around,  Stone's weapon was trained on him but he could tell he was scanning around. "Right this way." Hallis started to move off to the side. "No. You bring the crates to me." Hallis paused and fidgeted,  clearly agitated that this wasn't going his way. "The crates are right over here." He pointed off to the side,  out of direct line of sight of the cargo hold doors. "No,  you bring the crates to me." Shepard pointed to the ground at her feet.  
  
"Shepard, there are several more armed organics heading to this location along with mechs." Legion's voice came across her comms. "Acknowledged, Legion. Be ready to blow the mechs, take them out when they are close enough to also take out the mercs."  
  
Hallis shifted on his feet,  then nodded. Several of the armed mercs lifted up a crate and carried it over to right in front of Shepard and lowered it down. "Scan it Legion." After a few seconds Legion's voice came back on the comm, "it's empty, Shepard."  
  
"You know,  crossing the Shadow Broker is bad for your health." Shepard and Stone started backing into the ship when the mechs came around the corner. She heard Hallis scream out to get Shepard right as both mechs exploded from precise shots from the upgraded guns on Legion's transport. Shepard and Stone both started taking out the mercs as Legion started blowing the hell out of anything larger then a human that moved. The cargo hold doors closed and the clamps released,  within seconds they were away. Shepard was fuming and swearing a blue streak. Legion moved the transport back into place as Shepard headed up to the bridge followed by Stone. Feron was already on a call to Liara, she was already working on finding out how they knew it was Shepard and who sent in the request. "Liara, I am not a happy camper right now. I want a name."  
  
"Working on it Shep, Hallis has been working for the Broker for years,  there has never been a problem." Liara looked worried and furious at the same time." He said he was expecting someone else,  yet he knew who I was. This ship isn't registered and my helmet distorts everything, he knew Liara,  it wasn't a guess. It's time for some house cleaning."  
  
Liara paused at her terminal, clenched her fists, "Agreed, I'll pass it on to the Broker. I'll get back to you as soon as I get the name." The link disconnected. "Feron,  set a course for the data run." She pushed past Stone heading back to the cargo hold to strip off and clean her armor.  
  
"Damn,  she is pissed." Stone muttered as he watched her storm into through the doors. "She has a right to be,  I told you what happens when you cross the Broker. Now imagine crossing both the Broker and Shepard in one go. Whoever set that up, well, pretty much just stuck what you humans call a bullseye on the back of his head."  
  


* * *

  
  
The data run was pulled off without a hitch,  the data was uploaded and Liara told them that Hallis apparently owed a debt to a Salarian doctor for saving his sister's life. "I have a feeling someone called in that debt. Hallis was found dead in his apartment an hour ago, classic STG style. I'm running a database and comm scan as we are speaking, only one anomaly has been found and taken care of. Unfortunately, who ever placed it there scrubbed their tracks well. There are too many Salarians that work under the Broker to carelessly point a finger. I'm going to need more time, Shepard. Needless to say the Broker was not happy and made sure that everyone knew the penalty for crossing him. It's been quieter then normal here." They spoke a few more minutes then Shepard disconnected the call.  
  
She then placed a call to the Council, once all of them were online,  she told them the job they sent her on concerning the recruit was done and she was on the way to the Citadel to file her report. Not even 2 minutes after she disconnected the call then Sparatus sent her a request on a secured line, "Shepard,  thank you for aiding Spectre Tytus,  he gave me all of the information he retrieved.The two scientists were transferred into custody, several hours later they were found dead in their cells. Alenko arrived,  the Krogan had apparently sent a full squad to guard him and the evidence. We have watched it and debated, it is tied,  you can guess how." Shepard frowned.

"Councillor,  you know what will happen if she gets away with this. I'll be bringing in more evidence. If those two are behind it, fair warning,  being Councillors won't stop me. We lost Bau, almost lost Tytus. The others have been alerted,  hopefully nothing will happen to them."  
  
"I know Shepard, I have called for a trial. She is being brought in and if she cooperates will be here in two days. The others had called for a closed session, I used the threat of exposing the information about the Asari withholding of the Beacon to the public,  that would be enough to get a vote of no confidence on Tevos, the Asari broke their own laws with that. So it will be open to Ambassadors and Councillors. No one will stop you or the other Spectres from witnessing it either as it concerns the death of one of your own ... if you can get them all to the Citadel in time." Sparatus's mandible spread out in a Turian grin and she returned it with one of her own. He disconnected the call.  
  
Shepard sent out the call across the Spectre's personal line of communication. The replies started to pour in when she also sent them the files of what happened to Bau and Tytus. They were heading to the Citadel in full force.


	9. Chapter 9

* * *

 

 

Shepard caught a transport to her apartment after contacting Kolyat letting him know she was on the Citadel and needed to see him. Feron wanted to stay at her place but she told him no, Stone was staying in the guest room as he had no place else to go. That upset Feron to the point he was growling loudly when Stone got near him, she told him to stop it that Kolyat is also staying there. He didn't need to know that last part was a lie.   
  
When they arrived she showed Stone to the downstairs guest room, and Kolyat arrived a few minutes later. Barging in and yelling for Feron to show himself that he wanted to break his damn neck. Shepard got him to calm down and told him Feron wasn't there. She sat him down and explained what was happening. She wanted him to catch a transport off the Citadel to a safe house of Liara's until all this mess was over. He refused until she told him what happened with the pickup.  
  
"Wait,  they knew it was you? They were waiting for you?" Kolyat sat back on the couch and drank some of the beer from the bottle she handed him.  
  
"Yeah,  and the hairs on my neck are on end,  this is going to get messy and I want you away and safe. I'm not losing you Kolyat." She told him then slid a different omni tool chip and credit chit across the coffee table toward him. "Untraceable. Don't contact anyone on your old tool,  leave it in your apartment. Leave everything but some clothing and Mr Squeakers. Only Liara, Feron and I have the information for this tool and it's not stored in any database. Don't trust anyone else."  
  
He sat there and stared at her,  rubbing the back of his head when the chime signaled a visitor. Stone came out of the guest room armed with a pistol. "Kolyat, up to the bedroom and grab a pistol from the weapons locker,  move now." He took off up the stairs. When the door chimed again she glanced up,  he had taken a position at the top of the stairs hidden behind a piece of art but had a clear view of the door.  
  
She moved to the side of the door and activated the vid feed of the camera at the end of the hall and one at the door itself. It showed a Salarian at the door. Stone tensed up. "Who is it?" Shepard watched as the Salarian reached toward the intercom button. "Doctor Solus, Professor Mordin Solus's nephew."  
  
"Prove it." She watched as he backed up a bit from the door cleared his throat,  glanced around then started to sing Mordin's version of Gilbert and Sullivan. Shepard's shoulder sagged with relief and hit the button to open the door.  
  
Doctor Solus rushed in and Shepard locked the door behind him. "Glad you could make it on short notice. Kolyat, it's alright. He's going to replace your chip and make sure you get to the transport safely." Shepard told him as he came down the stairs. "Wait,  you mean I'm to leave now? You just got here."  
  
"Yeah and the shit gonna fly come tomorrow,  I need you away from here before then." Shepard watched as Kolyat removed his jacket and Doctor Solus put on sterile gloves. He swabbed Kolyat's arm above the insertion site of the omni tool chip then injected a numbing agent. While that  took effect he opened the omni tool package and inserted the chip into a small sterilizer. Carefully using a scalpel he removed the old chip and inserted the new one. Placing the old chip into the package and sealing it after closing up Kolyat's wound.  
  
Kolyat activated the new tool, Shepard showed him a small slip of paper with a code on it. Then tore it up and dropped the pieces into a small vial that Doctor Solus handed to her, watching as the acid inside of it destroyed the paper. He picked up the old tool putting it in his pocket and the credit chit was tucked into one of the numerous hidden inner pockets built into the Drell leathers.  
  
"Shep, are you sure about this?" He asked once more, she nodded then dragged him into a hug. "It's best this way. Take care of yourself and Mr Squeakers for me. It won't be for long,  but this is something that is too dangerous to just have you wondering around unprotected. If things go the way it looks like it will,  I'll be taking on two of the Council members. With only the backing of the other two along with the remaining Spectres and the Broker. Now go up and grab his cage, Liara is providing a package with all the stuff he needs. Doctor Solus will escort you to your shoebox so you can grab some clothes, not more then what you can put into the duffle I got you for Christmas. Then to the transport that is waiting for you. No other stops and no contacting anyone else,  I mean it Kolyat."

 

* * *

  
  
She started receiving notices on her private channel from the Spectres as they arrived, docking under different names. The Turian Councillor provided the names and identification codes for their ships. As they docked they scattered around the Citadel but still close enough to the Presidium to be at the Council chambers within a few minutes by using the keeper tunnels and rapid transit vehicles.   
  
Dinner that night was a quiet affair, there wasn't much left in the cupboards or cooler since Kolyat didn't restock. Feron called her once to check on her,  he asked again if he could come stay there with her, and once again she said no. She and Stone cleaned and readied their weapons and armor putting them within easy reach. They listened to the news for a while and tried to watch a movie but Shepard was too tense to keep still. Legion notified her that Kolyat's transport arrived at the secured location he had programmed into the shuttle. Kolyat called a few minutes later, letting her know he was safe. Once she heard from him she relaxed enough to try and get some sleep. She double checked the door and alarm then decided to go to bed. She could hear Stone snoring as she passed by his room on the way to the stairs.  
  


* * *

  
  
Shepard snapped awake unsure what woke her. She reached for her pistol only to have her hand grabbed,  she lashed out in a punch that wasn't very effective,  but it did startle her assailant. "Shit, Shep it's me." Feron let out a groan as rubbed his side, " I think you broke one of my ribs."  
  
"Feron,  what the fuck are you doing?" They both froze at the sound of a pistol charging up, "Stone,  it's Feron."  They heard the man's grumbling about being a dumbass and almost getting shot all 'cuz he wanted to get laid. They waited until they heard his door slide shut before talking again.  
  
"What are you doing here?" She asked him again. "You could have been killed."  
  
"You fucking lied to me Shepard. You told me Kolyat was going to be here with you,  that you wouldn't be alone with that human male. Yet a few hours ago I get a message from Liara, notifying me that Kolyat had arrived safely and to keep an eye on things on the Citadel. Why,  why did you do that? Do you have any idea what I have been through the last few hours,  the thoughts running in my head. Do you have any idea how hard it was for me not to come rushing over here right then? But the memories running through my head,  and the thought you were with him,  they just wouldn't stop." He ripped the cover away from her body and pushed her back onto the mattress, climbed into the bed covering her with his own body. He was naked,  that was what woke her up,  the sound of him removing his clothing.  
  
"Feron? What do you think you are doing?" She started to struggle against him and he held her arms down on the bed.   
  
"Stop moving,  damn it. I was going to wait,  was trying to give you time. You have a lot of stress on you as it is, I didn't want to add more. But then you had to go and lie and drive me crazy. Damn you, I told you I wanted to be with you,  you have to know how I feel about you. But you let that other male stay here and refused me. After we have... after what we shared, you refused me. I have been patient, I have waited for you,  for almost 4 years I have been in love with you. Since the day you came charging into the Shadow Broker's base and stood there on the other side of the glass. You promised to get me out of that electric chair,  to save me,  to rescue me and get us all back out alive. You took on the Shadow Broker,  you and Liara,  and you won. You kept your promise to me." He dropped his head to rest his forehead against hers.   
  
"But then,  then I found out about Thane. I was devastated,  Liara saw it,  she saw me starting to disconnect again,  to withdraw into myself. That's when she told me he was dying and if I really loved you that I would be happy that you had found love and was able to bring love and happiness to someone before they died. She showed me his data file,  I know what had happened to his previous wife, and I wept for his pain." He let go of her arms and raised himself up on his forearms, looking down into her face, watching the emotions run across them. "I saw his final farewell,  and my heart broke for you." He watched as the tears started to stream down her face.  
  
He moved to the side of the bed and pulled her into him and let her cry against his shoulder. "Do not refuse to let me help you,  to be with you. I need to be with you. You are consuming me,  this need is consuming me. I was asked to help you through your tu fira,  but for four long years, I have been struggling with it myself. I don't want to be without you any longer." He waited and held her.  
  
After a few minutes she pushed against his chest and he let her go. He watched as she got up and headed for the bathroom. He sat up, brought his knees up and placed his head on them. He did it again, why the hell couldn't he have just waited. He felt tears start to work their way down his own face as he got up and started to get dressed a few minutes later.  
  


* * *

  
  
She washed her face,  holding a cold washcloth over her eyes,  hoping it would relieve the swelling and redness from her crying. She had no idea he felt that strongly for her or did so for so long. She lowered the cloth and stared into the mirror. Could she be with him,  knowing she may never come to love him back? Was it right of her to do that to him? What if she couldn't feel more for him the what she already did, what would happen if he got tired of it?  
  
She would never know if she didn't take the chance. It was time she really tried. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes,  praying to the God's she wasn't about to make a mistake and lose one of her closest friends. She hung up the cloth and turned out the light, trying to ignore the way her hand was shaking as she did so.  
  
When she went back into the room she could barely see him silhouetted near the soft glow of the fish tank,  he was pulling on the leather vest he wore under the Drell coat. He was leaving, she must have hurt him when she didn't say anything and just left him there. She flexed her hands and hoped she didn't mess things up further, "Feron,  it seems like it's my turn to say don't leave." Her words were barely louder then a whisper but he heard her,  he froze in the middle of closing the snaps on his vest.  He closed his eyes and he waited for what she had to say,  praying it was what he wanted to hear.   
  
He didn't turn around, just stood there. She tried again, "I don't want to mess up, I am not really sure what to do here,  it's why I hesitated before. I am worried that if this doesn't work that I will lose your friendship." She scratched her forehead." I don't want to hurt you, I like you Feron, a lot. I'm not sure I can ever come to love you as you deserve. I still love Thane so much. I... I'm willing to try." She started to wring her hands as he had still not turned around. "But, I'm going to need time to think and to become ready to ... to... I'm not ready to... god this is hard." She wrapped her hands around her chest and hung her head,  chewing her bottom lip.  
  
"You aren't ready to make love with me? We have already been together,  Shepard,  we have shared a bed several times. You enjoyed my kisses,  accepted my touches before, I smelled your arousal on the ship more then once. But if time is what you need then I'll wait before fully possessing you again, but I do not want to be separated from you, I need to be near you,  that includes sharing a bed. I want to be touched by you and to touch you,  but I will ask first. Can you give me that? I will accept whatever it is you are willing to share with me." He turned his head to the side glancing over his shoulder to where she was still standing, "One more thing Shepard,  don't **ever** lie to me again."   
  
He waited until she nodded then slowly removed his vest,  folded it and placed it on top of his coat. He sat on the edge of the bed and removed his boots again placing them neatly under the chair. When he stood and reached for the hidden snaps on his pants he heard her draw in a breath. One snap gave away,  then another,  before she scrambled to get in the bed and shut her eyes. The sounds of the other snaps and zippers seemed very loud in the room. A few minutes later she felt the bed dip on the other side as he got in behind her,  drawing her tightly back into his bare body. She heard his sigh of released breath as he fully molded himself to her, he nuzzled the back of her head then laid still. It was several minutes later when the rhythm of his breathing changed,  he had fallen asleep. It took her a while longer.  
  


* * *

  
  
Her omni tool signalled an incoming message early that morning, it was from the Council. The meeting was postponed until the next morning. The transport that was supposed to bring in the Dalatrass had yet to arrive. That set off warning bells in Shepard's mind, she sent back an acknowledgement then forwarded the message to all the Spectres on their encrypted mail. The replies came back within minutes, they all were there and ready,  they would follow her now as they did during the war when the Council hesitated costing so many lives needlessly. She got a message from Spectre Tytus reminding her that she promised him a date,  which caused her to let out a small laugh. She sent a message back for a get together at the Dark Star later that night.  
  
Feron tightened the grip he had on her waist, "what was that laugh for?" He mumbled into her hair. "It was from the Spectre we saved reminding me of our date." She felt him tense up behind her, "what do you mean by that? You are taken,  you are not to be going on dates with other males."  
  
She glanced back over her shoulder, "it's not a date... date,  if you know what I mean. It's a human saying, something we use to mean to get together for a drink or something. He owes me a drink, I thought it would be a good time for all of us to go out. Stone wants to try some of that Weeping Heart." She tried to lift his arm from around her so she could get up but he only tightened it around her more.  
  
"Where are you going?  It's still early yet." He asked as he nuzzled her shoulder and flexed his fingers along her waist. She felt the beginnings of his erection stirring against her. For a minute she panicked, " I have to use the bathroom. Let me up, please." She waited a few seconds then he let out a sigh and moved his arm,  she just about shot out of the bed walking quickly toward the bathroom. She used the facilities and washed her hands. She had to get a hold of herself,  if this was to work she had to try and not run from him now, she admitted to herself how good it felt to wake beside him again. She took a deep breath,  held it,  then let it slowly out. Straightened her spine then headed back to the bedroom.   
  
Feron was still laying in bed, the covers up to his waist. He had turned onto his back and drew up one of his legs, draped an arm over his eyes. She couldn't see very well as there were no lights other then the fish tank,  the moonglow filter on it cast his scales in a more bluish tone. She wiped her palms on the sides of her shirt and headed for the bed,  he seemed surprised when she got back into it. Jerking his arm up away from his eyes he watched as she hesitated for a few seconds,  swallowed then laid up against him. Draping her arm across his waist, wiggling into the same position she had slept up against him before. This time though her thigh connected with his semi hardened cock,  bringing it into full erection in seconds. His indrawn breath was a hiss as he closed his eyes and tilted his head back into the pillow, trying not to grab for her as his body shuddered at the contact. He groaned out as she wiggled some more, "Goddess of Oceans,  Shep, are you trying to kill me?" She finally got settled and he brought his arms up, holding onto her.  
  
She laid there getting used to having his body beside her, his scaled flesh under her cheek. She could hear his breathing,  it brought back a flash of memory of the crackling sound that she could hear from Thane's lungs. After their first night together she was careful not to put any pressure on his chest, even just having her head resting there had put undue pressure on his lungs,  causing him to cough. Feron's breathing however was clear, no bubbly sound, no crackling.  
  
"Feron,  do you ever go back to Kahje?" She asked him as she laid there and continued to listen,  moving her hand along his side once in a while,  tracing one of his patterns or scars. He let out a snort, "hell no, I hate that place. As soon as I was able, I stowed away in the cargo hold of a merchant ship and got the hell away from that death trap. That planet is going to be the death of our species. We weren't met to live in an environment like that,  and doing so is wiping us out as fast if not faster then Rakhana did. We lost billions of our people because we were stupid about our conservation and unregulated population, we built to fast and didn't look far enough into the future. The Hanar should have known we couldn't survive there, our world was a vast arid planet. Not a fucking swamp." He felt her let out a light laugh,  her warm breath blowing across the scales on his chest,  setting his heart racing a bit faster.  
  
"Why did you want to know that, Shep? Hope you weren't planning on vacationing there." Feron tried to make light of it,  he was worried she wanted to go there because that was where Thane had been laid to rest in the Hanar's funeral rite. He couldn't bear the thought of his body being submerged in all that water, he felt it was unnatural for one of his species. He knew to them it was the way to Kalahira's shores, but all that water... "No, I wasn't planning on that. Since you asked me not to lie to you, I was laying here listening to your breathing and remembered Thane's. He spent so much time on Kahje, growing up, training. He told me once they trained them in that constant rain,  even knowing their lungs couldn't handle it, they did it to those children anyway."   
  
She moved around a little more now that his erection had gone down,  her back had started to cramp holding herself for so long in that one position. As she moved around ,  he wedged his thigh up between her legs even higher,  pressing tight against her center. She froze, he moved his arm down to her hip and pulled her harder onto his thigh. She was only wearing a tank top and a pair of panties,  she didn't expect him to be sneaking into her bed last night and didn't bother with shorts. She glanced at him,  his eyes were closed again,  his mouth open slightly,  as he continued to flex his thigh muscles,  causing it to rub at her center. His erection had returned in full force.   
  
"I can't Feron, not just yet." She told him, running her hand over his head crest and down his cheek frill. Carefully easing away from him, he clutched at her then took a breath letting it out as he dropped his hands to the bed. She moved to the dresser,  grabbing clothes and putting them on as fast as she could. He hadn't moved, all she heard was his ragged,  harsh breathing coming from that general direction. She hurried to the door and she heard him say,  as it slid open, "I'll be down in a little while,  I need to ... take care of this first."

 

* * *

  
  
She had started coffee brewing and was paging through the stack of delivery options for breakfast when Stone came out of his room, dressed in a set of Alliance issued sweats. "Morning, " he mumbled through a yawn. "Morning, as we have no food in the refrigerator,  it will be delivery this morning. I got a call from the Council,  the meeting has been postponed until tomorrow. So today,  I'll get us restocked with food. Tonight we go to the Dark Star, a couple of the Spectres will be there, including Tytus. You can meet some others and ask them questions if you want." She got up and made a cup of coffee for herself and pulled up the delivery place on the terminal, passing the menu over to Stone for him to look over while he drank his coffee.  
  
"Where is Feron? He still asleep? I can't believe that bastard snuck in here that late." Stone was saying as he pushed in his requests on the terminal adding to the items Shepard had asked for. "He'll be down shortly." Was all she said, she was turned away from him so he didn't see the blush that came to her cheeks.  
  
Several minutes later Feron came down the stairs, not looking at either of them,  just grabbed a cup of coffee and leaned against the counter. "Shepard is ordering breakfast from a place called The Grove." Stone went to had him the brochure,  instead Feron just blinked and said, "I'll take a number 3, no onions,  extra bacon. Add a side of their breakfast granola."  
  
Stone looked at him, "shit,  it's that whole memory thing,  right. You don't even need to keep the carry out menus since you got them all in your head." Feron nodded at him, "yep."  
  
Shepard placed the order then went for more coffee, "that problem getting the Dalatrass here, I wonder what exactly is up with that. Do you think you could contact the Broker and ask for a quick search on it?" She asked him as she tried to make her coffee,  he kept getting in her way until she huffed out and just let him do it for her. After he handed her the cup he ran his hand down her waist and hip,  she heard a very low growl from him and raised her eyebrow. He just pulled her into him, "it's you my body wants, I couldn't finish. Maybe later if you're comfortable with it we can do a little something to help," he whispered to her. His tongue swirled along the sensitive place on her neck as his lips nibbled her. When the chime rang,  Stone brought out the pistol he had concealed under his shirt and she grabbed one from under the counter. Feron went to answer the door.  
  
After they ate, Feron sat at Shepard's desk and contacted Liara. "Hey,  listen. Something weird is going on here, the Council sent her a message early this morning,  saying the transport sent to pick up the Dalatrass never showed up on the Citadel. Shep said the hairs on her neck are up and asked if you could check into it for her."   
  
She agreed then smirked at him, "so how's it going?" He shrugged. "She's agreed to try. I told her Liara and I think I scared her. Then again, it could be because I snuck in here last night, grabbed her, almost got shot and a broken rib because of it." Liara was staring at him,  her fingers held over the holographic keyboard of her terminal. She started to shake her head at him. "Feron,  I swear you're hopeless."

 

* * *

  
  
Feron went back to Liara's apartment to get his spare sets of clothing and move them to Shepard's while she took Stone out to show him around the Citadel. They would pick up groceries on the way back. They ran into several Spectres and she introduced them to Stone and let them know of the gathering,  a few said they would come. The others would keep an eye out around the Citadel for trouble, none of them could think of a reason for the Council to postpone the meeting.  
  
When the arrived at the Dark Star that night,  most of them were there,  scattered here and there around the lounge. No more then 2 in a group to draw less attention. Feron grabbed the only open large table and watched as she continued to go around the room with Stone in tow, talking with others. Stopping here and there,  buying this person or that one a drink. Finally they made their way back to their own table, Tytus following behind them. She slid into the booth beside Feron,  who immediately wrapped an arm around her shoulders causing Tytus to raise a brow plate and flick out a mandible.  
  
They placed their drink orders along with some small appetizers that the lounge had started to sell,  Tytus and Shepard started to discuss the happenings around the Terminus that they both had encountered. Tytus leaned a bit toward her and told her how furious he was about the scientists being murdered right under the Council's noses. He wanted to catch the people behind all this mess almost as much as she did. When their orders arrived,  Shepard slid her Weeping Heart across the table to Stone warning him to only take one small drink of it,  even though it was a synthetic version,  and a mild one at that,  they didn't know what his reaction would be. He raised an eyebrow at the bright neon green color of the liquid in the glass,  then glanced at Feron, who was sitting there with what Stone could have sworn was a, "dare you to do it," look on his face,  picked up the glass gave it a sniff then downed the whole thing.  
  
"Oh shit," Shepard sighed out and waited for Stone to go into fits.  
  
It started out as a light sparkle of color around his hand,  which he raised and turned this way and that,  watching the trail of sparkles in air as he moved his hand back and forth. It quickly progressed to various changing colors of people. He sat there rubbing his eyes, as he seen a Krogan with fairy wings fly by holding the leash of giant bumblebee. He gave out a rather unmanly giggle as a pair of Turians walked past him, it could have been because to him, they had on giant pink bunny suits.  
  
"Yeah, we won't be giving him one of those again anytime soon." Shepard said as she tried to get him to eat some of the food to help counteract the hallucinations. Tytus was sitting there laughing so hard that he was having problems stabbing the small crustacean looking things on his plate with the 2 prong fork like implement they ate with.  Once she finally got some food into Stone and he started to actually eat on his own,  taking both his plate of food and more then half of hers, he stopped seeing the stranger things,  but the sparkles were still there.   
  
"Well one thing for sure,  if the Dalatrass doesn't show up tomorrow she will be in violation of Council law. If they try to postpone it again tomorrow,  state the Law's guidelines to them." Tytus transferred a copy of the relevant ones to Shepard's omni tool. "She can be labeled as a fugitive and can be hunted,  then the Council can kiss our asses,  she can't hide behind them. We can go get her ourselves along with anyone helping her." He stabbed one of the small shellfish that had tried to wiggle off his plate and stuck it into his mouth,  biting down with a loud "crunch". Stone stared at him and looked rather nauseous as the Turian intentionally chewed open mouthed. Feron could hear the Spectres subharmonics sounding out the rumble of laughter. He leaned in nuzzling Shepard's hair to hide his smile and laughter.  
  
Shepard reached for the datapad started to place another drink order when Feron,  covered her hand. "I want you sober tonight, please." He whispered in her ear,  she shivered and changing it to something non alcoholic for herself and him,  the others ordered the same as before. They continued to talk and the other Spectres slowly started to leave,  stopping by the table on their way out to say goodbye or just a quick nod or wave as they left. Shepard's omni tool gave out a ping and everyone at the table stopped talking,  a second later Tytus's gave a ping as well. They quickly opened their messages.  
  
 _From: Alenko, Kaidan Spectre_  
 _To: Spectre List,  cross comm_  
  
 _Watch your six,  being followed, shots taken. Krogan captured one, Asari,  merc for hire. Information extraction points to someone higher up on the food chain knowing that the Spectres are here for trial. Cover tracks and move from current locations if possible. Double up, take precautions._  
  
 _Shepard and Tytus,  the three of us are main targets. Have gone into hiding, will be there for trial._  
  
 _Alenko_  
  
Shepard reread the message then quietly told Stone and Feron. They paid their bill and got up, "Tytus,  where you staying at?" Shepard asked him as they started to walk to the doors of the lounge. "The Black Vortex,  a small hotel on Zakara's lower ward. Out of sight out of mind as you humans would say." Tytus was casually glancing around him.  
  
"Yeah, not good enough. You're staying with us. You got anything there you need to pick up?" Shepard asked him,  not noticing the way Feron's brow ridges drew down. Tytus stopped,  glanced at his omni tool as if to check something, "yeah,  I got one bag and a weapon case there." They continued on to the transit terminal,  casually looking around. "Okay,  take Stone with you, grab your stuff and he can get you back to my place. I'll program the VI to let you in using your Spectre ID." She linked their omni tools for a brief second so his ID number was transferred. They shook hands then they got into 2 separate skycars heading in 2 different directions.  
  
Shepard stopped at a small mixed chirality grocery store. She gathered up several heat and eat meals that she remembered Garrus liked and hoped that Tytus liked them too. Then they headed up to the apartment to wait for the others.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick thank you to everyone commenting and leaving kudo's on the story. Glad someone is enjoying it.
> 
> More to come soon. Writing Feron ... isn't easy.

* * *

 

 

When Shepard and Feron got to the apartment she took a glance around made sure nothing had been tampered with. Legion ran a quick scan on the VI system to check for any malware, virus or backdoors that may have been added recently before entering Tytus's ID.  
  
After she dumped the meals on the counter,  Feron grabbed her from behind bringing her into a fierce hug. "Why did you ask him to stay with us? Surely there were others he could have stayed with." She tensed up at first,  then forced herself to relax a bit. "Yeah,  but with both of us here we can watch out for each other, since Alenko said we were both targets it is more then likely they will come for us at the same time. With 4 of us here we have a better chance of taking them out. The windows here,  as you know,  are sealed with a kinetic barrier. Legion is monitoring all the systems so this is the safest place,  certainly better then that hotel he was in."  
  
Feron let out a growl then sighed,  he knew she was right. He let go of her then took her by the hand leading her to the couch in the small sitting room,  it was somewhat hidden by the large holographic fireplace that separated the 2 sitting areas. Then pulled her into his lap as he sat down. "While we have a few minutes alone, I want you to try and get more comfortable with me. Touch me,  kiss me,  whatever you feel comfortable with doing."  
  
She stared into his eyes, she could almost see the need for her shining in them. She swallowed, shifted so she straddled his lap,  then moved her eyes along his facial features, followed by shaky hands. She watched as he closed his eyes again,  pressing into her hand as he did before,  enjoying her touch. She traced the same path as before, then ran her finger across his bottom lip. She marveled at how different the soft ribbing was from what she could remember of Thane's. Feron's were a dark bluish purple, and so incredibly soft. Thane's had been a red,  as he grew sicker they had paled to a deep pink then on the day he died,  they were so very pale. She closed her eyes and did her best to push thoughts of Thane deeper into her mind,  she was committed to trying to have a relationship with Feron. She knew it wouldn't work if she refused to let him go.  
  
When she opened her eyes he was staring at her. "I'm sorry. I'm trying." He raised his hand,  brushing his fingers along her cheek, "it's alright. I do understand this isn't easy for you. Just give it a chance." His voice was rough,  husky, as his frills expanded and he resonated with a hum meant to soothe. He closed his eyes and settled back on the couch a bit more,  adjusting her on his lap, so she could feel his erection pressing into her center. He let out a sigh as her hands once more started to move on his neck this time. He heard the clasps of his coat being undone and the felt the buckles on the arm guards being opened. He drew in a breath and waited as he felt her draw the pieces off and toss them onto the couch. Followed by the sounds of his vest being unsnapped and zipped. The light touch of her hands on his chest made him gasp,  a shiver ran through him as she scraped her short nails down his scales. The humming changed to one of arousal,  she could feel the vibrations in her own body they were so intense.   
  
His hands shifted from resting on the tops of her thighs to her hips, he pushed her down just a little harder on his lap and let out a low groan. "Shepard, this is becoming painful,  please let me take you upstairs to bed. I won't push you for sex,  but these pants are killing me." She let out a little laugh,  then chewed her lip. He waited as patiently as he could,  those damn leather pants kept feeling tighter by the second and it really was becoming incredibly painful. She slowly nodded,  then eased herself up off his lap. He stood up carefully,  groaning a bit as the pressure increased slightly then gave out a sigh as he stood upright. He grabbed up his arm guards handing them to her and carefully picked her up,  causing her to gasp. "Trust me, I won't drop you,  may take a bit longer to navigate those stairs in this condition though." She gave a chuckle then relaxed,  burying her head in the nape of his neck.  
  
They had just reached the top of the stairs and entered the bedroom when the VI chimed out someone at the door. They waited, Shepard tensing up and moving over to the nightstand to grab her pistol,  when they heard Stone's voice followed by a flanging Turian one. She relaxed and replaced the pistol in the drawer. Feron used the door's keypad to shut and lock the bedroom door. Shepard then accessed the VI to lock the main door and the balcony door then set the alarms. The kinetic barrier was in place along all the windows. She headed into the bathroom as he took off his coat folding it and placing it on the chair like he did last night along with his vest and boots. When she came out she only glanced his way as he passed her on his own way to the bathroom.  
  
She hurriedly went and gathered up her regular sleeping clothes,  a tank top and loose cotton shorts, rapidly changing before tossing her clothes into the laundry hamper,  she'd sort them later. She wiped her hands,  shut off all the lights, then got into bed as she heard the bathroom door open. He moved to the side of the bed finished stripping his pants off,  he only used enough snaps to keep them from falling after he left the bathroom so it was much faster then last night. Then slipped into the bed and waited. It was several minutes before she shifted, as she rolled over she could tell he was watching her. "I told you I wouldn't push." He whispered to her, his voice still had the husky quality to it, she moved closer, not as hesitant as she was the first time.  
  
She ran her hand once more over his chest, feeling the difference between the scarred area and the smooth scales. "Does it bother you that I am like this? I know my body must be much different then Thane's. The damage was extensive, without having any medical care it was left too long and resulted in scars. Our species is not like yours, the ... dermatoplasty procedure that Humans and Asari can have, will not work on us because of our scales. There is no way to completely remove these. Lessen their appearance yes,  remove completely, no."  
  
She raised herself up on her forearm, looking toward his face,  she knew he could see her perfectly even if she could barely make out his form in the semi darkness of the room. "It doesn't bother me,  not in the way you may be thinking. What bothers me the most is that it took so long to get you out of there, Liara told me she was planning revenge for 2 years. Those 2 years I was dead, and Cerberus knew where you were. They had the information Liara needed to find you,  yet waited almost a whole year longer after I was awake to pass on the information. If we could have made it there sooner,  maybe ... maybe it wouldn't have been quite so bad."  
  
"Shep,  the main damage was done long before you came back to life. After a while they just did,  well,  whatever they wanted when they got bored. Then the Broker had me hooked up to that chair where you found me." He started to stroke her arm,  drawing her back down to lay against him. "Now,  I do believe we were up to something downstairs, well ... at least I was anyway." She let out a low laugh,  she could hear the smirk in his voice. "If you feel comfortable enough, maybe we can continue?" His other hand had snaked around her and was now running along her hip,  applying just enough pressure to tilt her into him.  
  
He let out a sigh and wiggled a bit as her hand continued to run over his body, stopping here and there to trace a scar she found. Moving a bit lower and scraping slightly against the muscles on his abdomen which caused his whole body to jerk and shiver,  a moan escaping from him. She felt the covers stirring from him becoming hard again. She watched, as best she could, as he tilted his head back when she ran her hand down one of his hips to his thigh,  she could feel his muscles tighten, heard his breathing hitch then become a rapid panting. When she withdrew her hand from him he let out a trilling sound that reminded her of a whine. She cupped his face and turned it toward her, brushing his lower lip with one of her thumbs she leaned in and lightly brushed a kiss across them.  
  
He opened his eyes and waited, hoping she would do that again. She brushed another across his lips as he ran his hand up her arm and cupped the back of her head. "Do I have to bribe you with another chocolate covered cherry to get an even better kiss from you? I love the ones you are teasing me with,  don't get me wrong, but the one you gave me before was incredible."  
  
She cocked her eyebrow, "well now that you mention it ... one of those cherries would be wonderful right about now." She heard him let out a growl then pushed her over to her back, "don't move,  and no peeking at where I hid my chocolates." He rolled himself back to his own side when he heard her chuckle,  got up and headed for the closet,  as he past near the tank she got a view of his body gilded in blue by the lights. He was magnificent,  she couldn't deny it. He still had an erection,  she noticed how large he was,  it was no wonder she was still feeling the ache that morning. She closed her eyes as he warned her the light from the closet was going to come on,  she hated those autolights, but her lease wouldn't allow her to change it. She heard him rustle around in the closet and peeked at him again, she noticed his strong thighs and tight buttocks, the muscles rippling across his back as he reached up bringing down a small box from the shelf. "I know you are over there peeking."  
  
She let out a huff loud enough for him to hear and he chuckled,  drawing something she couldn't see out of the box,  before putting it back up on the shelf. When he turned she didn't bother closing her eyes, as the light from the closet backlit him for a few seconds before the door slid shut. He saw she didn't look away and was thankful things were looking up for them, just needed to retain his patience.  
  
Sliding into the bed beside her, "VI, room lights, level 1, soft glow." He held out a small wrapped piece of candy. "What is that,  it's not a cherry." He laughed and settled up against the headboard, "get up here and I'll tell you what it is." He growled out, closing his fused fingers around the piece and pulling her up into his lap. She blushed and he just grinned at her as he wiggled her around until he was satisfied with where his cock lay nestled in between her legs, the heat of her,  even through those damn shorts,  felt delicious against him and he let out a tiny groan. "Now,  I know you really like chocolate. But there are other candies out there from other worlds, I'm trying to broaden your horizons here."  
  
He opened his hand holding the sweet. "This one,  believe it or not,  comes from a company jointly owned by a Batarian family and an Asari. They specialize in hard candies, like this one. When you place one of these in your mouth, let it rest on your tongue,  don't move it around. Then tell me what you taste." He unwrapped the sweet and waited till she opened her mouth,  he carefully placed in on her tongue and withdrew his fingers as her lips closed around them. He drew in a breath and she felt him twitch under her.  
  
She did as he told her to,  at first there was nothing, it tasted like nothing. Then she felt a slight tingle where it was laying on her tongue. The taste of oranges burst in her mouth, "Oranges, it tastes like fresh oranges." She looked at him, as he grinned, and started to move his hands on her waist and hips. A minute later he heard her gasp, "now it tastes like fresh,  ripe strawberries." The awe in her voice made him grin, "do you like it?" At her nod,  he brushed her hair away from the side of her neck, leaning in and kissing her shoulder. "How about now? Tell me what you taste now." She groaned as the taste of salted caramel filled her mouth, "caramel,  smooth and creamy with just a hint of salt."  
  
"May I kiss you?" He asked her as she savored the sweet treat. She nodded to him as the taste of the candy changed to that of butter toffee. She placed her hands on his shoulders and he pulled her to him,  his hand cupping the back of her head as his lips met hers. His other hand tightened his grip on her hip,  then slid around to her back. He palmed her ass as he slid his tongue in her mouth, sliding her further up his lap, the friction it caused making him hard and start to throb against her. Their tongues sliding together,  the candy slid from her mouth to his and against his cheek. He gently held her to him as they kissed,  their tongues meshing,  tasting each other. He sat up a little from the headboard, and groaned when he felt her breasts press against his chest. He started moving her against him, flexing his hips to press his erection harder against her.  
  
He moved his hand from her head to her back, slipping it up and under her tank. The feeling of her bare skin against his palm had him groaning and gripping her ass harder, moving her faster against him. He broke the kiss on a gasp of air,  opening his eyes, "please, will you remove your shorts. Just those, I want to feel you against me. I won't go further,  not until you tell me it's ok." He was breathing hard, his eyes glassy.  
  
She looked at him,  she knew what he wanted from her, and he was asking. Not demanding, not being petulant with not getting his way as some of her past lovers had been when she didn't want to have sex. She knew she could trust him,  he may be a sneaky bastard at times, but wouldn't push her further then she was willing to go. "Just my shorts, the rest stay on." She breathed out,  and he nodded without hesitation. She shifted to the side,  causing him to let out a rather loud groan and a trill. He panted as he watched her roll to her back and untie the cord, lifted her hips and slowly draw them down her legs. He let out another loud groan, as he watched her hands slide back up her thighs after wiggling the shorts all the way off and kicking them off the bed. She glanced over and seen him stroke himself,  she blushed as she laid there watching him, God he was larger then Thane, it wasn't a trick of the light. She swallowed as his eyes focused on her,  she couldn't help it,  her eyes dropped back down to his hand slowly moving up and down his cock.  
  
"Baladain melon," he gasped out, drawing her eyes from his hand back up to his face. "Huh?" she whispered,  her voice shaky as the word came out,  her mind was blank. She watched as he opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue, the candy laying on it. "That's mine," was all she could come up with. A hum followed by a trill came out after he slid his tongue back in his mouth and closed his lips. "Then come up here and take it back."   
  
She searched his face, he was sitting there watching her as well,  his hand beginning to stroke slowly up and down, the fused fingers brushing across the narrower head, then moving back down, stopping at each of the ridges to stroke along it before continuing on its path. The same vibrant colors that covered the rest of his body was also splashed across his cock, but unlike Thanes, which was a solid shade of green, Ferons had the same stripe pattern that began under each ridge.  
  
Shepard got to her knees and carefully straddled him, she gripped his shoulders,  hesitating about coming into contact with his hardened member. He made no move to force her,  to rush her. He could smell her arousal,  and could see her hesitation so he waited,  he let her decide as he promised he would.  She closed her eyes, settled onto his lap, his cock was positioned just right along the seam of her sex. He let out a loud groan as her head settled into the crook of his neck,  her lips against the soft ribbing there. He shuddered and wrapped his arms around her, holding her to him tightly. She felt his heart beating so fast against her chest she didn't know how it kept from bursting. She shifted and his body jerked, hips flexing and all his muscles seemed to tense at the same time. The hum coming from him grew louder in her ears. She could tell he was actually quite close to his first orgasm, with him becoming erect without obtaining release so many times that day she knew he would not be able to hold back much longer.  
  
She lifted her head and nodded, then leaned in to kiss him,  taking the piece of candy back into her own mouth, as his tongue swirled around hers.  He shifted them on the bed so that he was covering her body with his own. The kiss becoming harder as he started to slide his body along hers,  the heat and moistness coming through her panties adding to his own lubrication aided in sliding her silk covered sex against him. He angled her body against his enough to widen her labia for his cock to brush against the little nub, he knew he found the right pressure and angle by the way she shuddered and opened her eyes to stare at him. She wasn't expecting him to try and get her to orgasm as well. He kept rocking into her body,  his hand slowly moving up under her top, stopping before he reached her breast,  stroking the soft skin he found there.  
  
This time she was the one that let out the loud groan as he continued to thrust his cock against her. _God's how he wanted to be inside her,  thrusting deep instead of sliding along the outside._ She moved her hands to his arms and slid them up to his shoulders, pulling him down for a kiss,  thrusting her tongue deep inside his mouth. She pressed up against him as he continued his thrusts,  his groans muffled by her mouth. That little piece of candy once more changing mouths.  
  
"I'm getting to close, I need you to find your release before my own. Will you trust me, will you touch me?" He continued to slide against her while he waited for her answer, he was pushing it, he knew, but he had to make sure she came before he did, it was going to be close as it was. She scraped her nails down his arm causing his cock to twitch and a shudder to go down his spine, he stopped his movement and she heard his growl. He saw a smirk appear on those perfect lips of hers. He brought up one of his knees to balance himself as he dragged her one hand down her own body causing her to shake, then pressing her palm firmly against his cock.    
  
She drew in a deep breath at the contact, he pressed harder, pushing it against her core and sliding his cock between them. Carefully, as not to startle her, he widened her labia more, letting more of his member access that heat from her. He started to slide against her again,  watching her face, feeling her press harder as the head of his cock moved against her clit. He spent several minutes just using the shortest strokes to cause her to groan,  at one point he felt her rolling her palm on him. She started to shake and thrust her hips up against his as his cock hit her clit,  pushing harder against him and wrapping her fingers partially around him,  causing him to groan and speed up his thrusts. It only took a few minutes more before she let go of him and bowed her back as her release hit her,  jerking and thrusting her hips against his, crying out his name. He shuddered when he heard her,  let out a growl and shifted to his knees. Using his own hand to cover and press his cock down on her he started thrusting rapidly, the strong pheromones from her release causing him to growl and hum until he roared out his release, coating his palm and her panties with his semen.  
  
They heard a set of feet pounding up the stairs, and Stone's voice yelling to open the damn door,  if that damn lizard had hurt Shepard he was gonna get his ass kicked. Then they heard Tytus's flanging voice yelling back to shut the hell up and to get away from their door,  "they're in there fucking for Spirit's sake,  go back to bed."  They were still for a few minutes before they both started to laugh,  both of them forgetting they weren't alone in the apartment.   
  
"Uh oh," Feron said as he looked down at her, she was still laughing. "What do you mean uh oh?" she asked him, little aftershocks were still pulsing through both of their bodies. "I swallowed the candy." She smacked his arm, "that was mine."


	11. Chapter 11

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The next morning she sent a notice to the Council that her report on the jobs they sent her on was ready as was her initial evaluation of Stone. She would be giving those immediately prior to the start of the trial of the Dalatrass. When the Salarian Councillor started to deny the request, she butted in,  citing the 10 different Council citations that were being broken by their refusal and by allowing the Dalatrass to remain at large when the Laws put forth by that Council states she had 48 hours to appear which was over with close to 12 hours ago.  
  
"Granted, Spectre. We should not have to be reminded of our own Laws." Sparatus said to her. He typed something up on his terminal, "reports can be made in 2 hours then the trial to begin immediately afterward. If the Dalatrass is not present by that time,  she will be named a fugitive from Council law,  as such, legal authority for her capture and treatment as a criminal will be authorized."  
  
"I request a lock down and tracing of communications from all known affiliates located on the Citadel,  I want no one to take it into their heads to give her more prior warning. If she doesn't show,  any and all persons found to have helped or is helping her by providing supplies, intelligence,  personnel,  any means to cover her activities, also be labeled as accomplices and subjected to the following mandated laws, " Shepard brought up her omni tool again and recited several statutes.   
  
"Granted." Sparatus accessed the terminal in front of him, all of the ones in front of the other Councillors flashed, she noticed the panicked looks between the Asari and Salarian. "What's wrong, Councillors? You both are looking ... worried about something. Have something you want to share with the rest of us?" Shepard gave them a knowing look as did the other Councillors. They glanced at each other again then to the other Councillors, "not at all, Shepard." Came the not so steady voice of the Asari Councillor. Shepard stared at her then gave her a toothy grin worthy of a Turian, "ahh, that's good then,  after all it would be such a shame if,  oh say,  a Council member knew of these misdeeds and was in fact providing assistance to such a criminal. You never know what else may come to light should a public outcry cause an investigation into any other law breaking activities that person may have done in the past or is doing now. Such shame would be brought onto their species. Or say, a promise to a hero's son,  a hero that had saved that Councillors life costing their own, had been broken to funnel that promised aid to a different source,  one performing illegal actions against another Council race,  one that not only provided so much desperately needed aid to other races,  but has become productive members of society." The Salarian started to blink rapidly. _Gotcha._   
  
"Stone and I will arrived in 2 hours. Shepard out." She cut the connection on the QEC in the apartment. All of a sudden bursts of laughter came from the occupants in the other sitting area. She let a grin spread wide across her face as she rounded the corner and seen Feron sprawled on the chair,  holding his stomach laughing, Stone was flat on his back on the floor,  laughing so hard his face had turned red. Tytus was stretched out on the couch laughing as well, "Shepard,  that was priceless,  wish I could have seen their faces." She activated her omni tool and watched as the recording popped up on the holo vid panel on the wall. They all burst out laughing again at the reactions of the council. "Alright everyone,  we need to stop laughing and move out. If they think we are going to wait here like sitting ducks they have another thing coming." Everyone got up and headed for the various bedrooms gathering up weapons and putting on their armors. Shepard sent out the notice across the Spectre comm line about the time of the trial. Replies came flooding back of acknowledgements,  they were on the move as well.  
  


* * *

  
  
Shepard and the entire group of Spectres arrived not more then 30 minutes from the time she disconnected from the QEC, Feron was nearby with a portable terminal and Legion was monitoring the comm's from Stone and Shepard.  
  
All of them went marching down toward the Council chambers and not a single person got in their way. The looks they had on their faces and the weapons bristling on them were enough of a deterrent. Shepard ushered them all into the chamber and they waited,  keeping an eye out for any trouble. As the time for the Council meeting drew near they had no word from anyone about if the Dalatrass was there or not. Feron was trying to contact Liara, she didn't have any information from her agent that someone was even sent out after her. She did however receive confirmation on her guess about no funds or aid coming from the Salarian as was promised to the Illuminated Primacy,  they didn't even know about it. Liara sent the back traced files on the various accounts all connected to the one they found at the first lab.  
  
Exactly 2 hours from the time the call was disconnected, Shepard stepped onto the platform in front of where the Councillors stood to hear Council related business. The Human Councillor came in first,  nodded and took his position followed by the Turian's. They waited 5 minutes. "Councillors,  it seems we have a problem here. Do you not agree?" Shepard asked them, a caustic tone to her voice giving it a rough edge.  
  
"I agree Spectre. It does seem that way, I do request to give them the benefit of the doubt, if by the time you have finished your report on the Spectre candidate placed under your inspection,  they have not arrived, I will issue the warrant for their 48 hour compliance notice to appear. In the meantime all resources will be used to track their location and to freeze all known accounts. Let us proceed."  
  
Shepard gave her report,  stating that she had only limited knowledge of his battle skills, gave her honest opinion that even though he showed a tendency toward bigotry he has not instigated any verbal or physical altercations. He has shared her apartment during this layover with herself, another Spectre and a Drell companion of hers,  so has shown that he is willing to put aside those feelings when necessary. Stone stepped forward and answered the questions put forth to him honestly. Yes,  he did at first have issues with being around non humans,  but being around Shepard's companion and seeing how much those from the other races respected her, he started to come around. They thanked him for his honesty.  
  
"We would like to continue your evaluation. Shepard can take you with her to do the jobs assigned to her from the Council until which time she deems it suitable to either put forth her recommendation or denial."  Sparatus went to continue but noticed Shepard was tapping her foot and had her arms crossed."Yes, Shepard. I assume you wanted to say something."  
  
"I don't have the room on my ship to accommodate him for that length of time. My ship is built to sustain 2, more then that is just not suitable. For just the short time LT Stone was with us our water and stored food supply became dangerously low,  quickly. I don't have the cargo space to store more. I already have my limit of crew members. If it is acceptable, he is acquainted with Spectre Tytus, perhaps that would be more suitable. It will also allow him more time to become accustomed to non humans and learn more of their customs,  less likely to cause issues later."  
  
"We were not informed you had a crew member when we assigned the evaluation to you,  we were told you worked alone."  Councillor Johnson said. Shepard directed her attention to him, "he has been a crewman off and on for a while before I was notified of the addition of LT Stone. Circumstances became necessary that he become a crewman on a semi permanent basis. He is responsible for gathering of my intel,  piloting the ship during the times when it is not suitable for a VI,  he also maintains my supplies. I also might as well inform you now since it bears an impact on this,  but after this issue is resolved and the fugitives are dealt with,  I will be putting in for an extended leave of absence. I wish to spend time with my step son and deal with some personal issues."  
  
"Hmm,  in that case,  Spectre Tytus and Spectre candidate Stone please step forward. You have both heard Shepards recommendation,  let us hear from both of you." Sparatus said to them, and listened to their replies. They agreed to the situation on a temporary basis,  to see how things worked out,  if it didn't then Stone would be reassigned since both of the Spectres felt Stone would be an asset once properly evaluated.  
  
"Now that part of the Council business has been dealt with, we shall move on. As Dalatrass Linron has failed to comply with the Council's request for her attendance for trial I am officially putting a warrant out for her capture and subsequent trial. The Asari Councillor has failed to attend this meeting once inquiries were made as to her possible involvement in the case against Dalatrass Linron and the charge of non sanctioned medical practices involving the possible reversal of the Krogan Genophage cure,  she will also be investigated into possible involvement in the murder of Spectre Bau and any coverup attempt. The same will be set forth for the Salarian Councillor. Both will also answer to the following charges against them, Councillor Tevos,  during the Reaper War,  did willfully and knowingly withhold information concerning the Prothean beacon that was hidden on Thessia,  breaking not only the Council law set forth upon those beacons but also for failing to notify that said beacon contained information vital to the war in a more urgent matter. Namely the knowledge that the Citadel was in fact the actual Catalyst needed for the Crucible,  had we known of this beacon and the information contain within,  many billions of lives would have been saved. As to the Salarian Councillor,  additional charges of illegally diverting funds and scientists that was assigned for the research of a cure for the Drell disease known as Kepral's Syndrome, and supplying them to Dalatrass Linron in her illegal activities. These charges so far have been substantiated by multiple video and audio files. Along with certified copies of banking statements to back up the charges of misappropriation of billions of credits.  As it concerned funds and manpower of a medical concern and on such a large scale if found guilty it will be viewed and sentenced as a Class A felony."   
  
Sparatus used the terminal in front of him, "all known accounts are frozen. The warrants and compliance requests have now been issued and all Council worlds have been notified the three are now fugitives. Spectres,  you are authorized to bring in the three of them,  preferably alive,  for trial. If any of them refuse to come willingly or resist arrest in anyway,  force is authorized. This meeting is now at an end. Good hunting."

 

* * *

  
  
Shepard sent out team assignments for all of the known locations that was on the files Legion had decrypted. Feron had all the supplies on board the ship and everything was ready,  they stopped by the apartment so Tytus and Stone could pick up their gear. Tytus jammed the spare dextro meals in his bag with a grin, Shepard only laughed at him. When they reached the docking bay Shepard told them to take care and to keep in touch, all of the Spectres will be ready to back each other up on this,  they wanted that Dalatrass's head on a pole but were willing to bring her in for trial.  
  
After they cleared the docks and was on their way to the Widow systems mass relay,  Shepard sent her team the plotting vectors for their search. Each location was listed as a possible lab. They were to go in, clear it of any hostiles, search for any data that had not already been destroyed given that the Dalatrass had prior notification and time to have it all effectively wiped. Liara was tracing shipments to and from those locations still,  the intel had been hard to get up until the time the Dalatrass had been labeled a fugitive, Liara snorted when the messages of intel trade for protection from Spectre justice came pouring in. One piece of information did catch her eye, the name of the Salarian Doctor with whom Hallis had owed that debt. She dug up intel on the name and found he shared the same bloodline as the Dalatrass,  she passed that intel to Feron.  
  


* * *

  
  
Shepard and the 4 Spectres she had on her team hit the relay one after the other, heading to their first location, it will take several hours to get there. Shepard took that time to grab something to eat and to start checking over her weapons. As she sat there with Thane's sniper rifle cradled in her hands her thoughts drifted back to the previous night. She didn't think she would give in so easily,  that she would feel herself grow comfortable with Feron so quickly and be ready for the intimacy they had shared last night. Let alone reach an orgasm with him that shook her to her core,  he didn't even penetrate her,  she never had that happen before. It always took her longer and rarely was it that shattering,  only with her husband.  She had always held her self back some with Thane,  in the back of her mind was the fear of hurting his lungs worse with her demands. Was it some sort of Drell chemistry, that affected her so? Or was it just those 2 men that did. Did it matter,  she committed herself to the relationship,  now she just had to wait and see where it led. She placed the rifle carefully on the workbench then got to work.  
  
Feron watched her from the cargo holds doorway, he seen the way she treated Thane's old rifle, and the way she sat there with a pensive look on her face for the longest time. He knew she was thinking about Thane and what had happened between them the previous night. It had surprised him that she allowed him to go so far, he knew how much he wanted to be with her,  how much his body craved to possess and be possessed by her, but her own reactions to it seemed to surprise her. By the look on her face,  she was worried about it. He had to make sure she didn't dwell on it too much, he had to make sure she came to crave being with him as much as he did her. Hopefully it would be enough, he was looking far into the future in the hope that she would agree to be his until the day they died. He knew Thane would always hold a place in her heart,  and he was fine with it,  it was right and proper for it to be that way. But he wanted a large part of her heart to be for him as well, for he too would be waiting for her on the shore when his time came, or hoped if the worst came to be,  that he would be held in high enough regard that she would be there for him, waiting. He didn't want to spend eternity alone,  he wanted to spend it with her. When she started to go through her cleaning routine he quietly left to head back up to the bridge,  they would be arriving at their first destination soon and would need to be ready in case of trouble, him being there helped with easing the burden on Legion having to handle everything on the ship and the transport as well, now more of his run times could be concentrating on protecting Shepard.  
  


* * *

  
  
Shepard would be taking two Spectre team members with her in the transport while the other ones stayed ready as backup and if any ships took off from the target location would be able to intercept them. She chose the two with the better ship fighting capabilities to remain on watch, the other two,  one a Salarian the other an Asari came with her. Both were experienced and both Liara informed her were actually trustworthy,  they dealt with the Broker honestly before and never asked for personal favors. She docked her ship to each of theirs so they could board, both had a crew member on board so they didn't need to worry about their ships. She warned them it would be cramped inside of the transport but they would be safe.  
  
Legion pretended to be a VI,  essentially the same thing EDI had done on the Normandy the entire time it had been in dry dock being retrofitted during her incarceration. After pre launch checks and Feron going over the intel he could get from the scans that were run they were ready, Legion sent out the warning then activated his mass effect field, they dropped out of the cargo doors heading toward the planet Amaranthine, the base of the one time criminal Helena Blake. When Shepard had been given the intel that pointed to that base she contacted Blake who was still working as a social worker on Omega,  she had survived the war and was helping others to cope with their losses or to help keep others from turning to crime. Blake transferred the schematics of the base,  or at least as it was when she was there,  to Shepard and thanked her again for her help earlier.  
  
Legion landed a short ways away from the base and Shepard moved them closer,  running constant scans as she did so. Legion told her there were no detectable signs of life in or near the base. They proceeded still using caution in case of mechs or other little surprises that may have been left behind. When they arrived the doors were unlocked and very little power remained on the fuel cells,  the base looked to have been abandoned for at least a week. They went in moving from room to room looking for any intel or clues, Legion informed them the databanks and terminals have been scrubbed, only bits and pieces of near useless data were left behind.   
  
They ran across a sealed room and Shepard hacked the door,  when it opened the smell of rotting flesh assailed them. Dumped in the corners were piles of Krogan bodies,  left to rot like garbage,  she called in the other Spectre's let them know what she had found and requested Feron to add a copy of her hardsuit's vid feed to the growing amount of evidence to present against the Dalatrass.   
  
The only thing they found that could be of help was an old shipping document that pointed to a company located on Noveria, Feron sent the name to Liara who ran a quick check sending back the information within minutes. Feron informed them the company was listed as a subsidiary of Listar Medical Supply and Pharmaceutical Corp.,  they had a shaky history of dealing with highly experimental drugs often leading to mass deaths or in some cases severe side effects, since they based themselves out of Noveria there was nothing that the Council could do,  legally.  Well,  they were Spectres and it wouldn't be the first time she went up against them not wanting Citadel law  there. This time she won't be as polite.  
  


* * *

  
  
"Noveria docking,  this is Spectre Shepard, requesting docking for 5 ships, all containing Spectres here on official business. Should you oppose my request I will be rather pissed and won't bother playing nice again before busting down your doors." Shepard stood behind Feron who was sitting in the pilot's seat. Legion informed her that the weapons system on the docking bays have activated. "Since you are playing it that way. So be it. You were given fair warning."   
  
"Legion hack their weapons,  turn it on themselves." Shepard watched as a series of flashing numbers and scrolling text went flying by on a monitor. The next they saw was a series of explosions along the docks and towers guarding them. Legion then hacked their comm lines,  chaos was ensuing, he also hacked the mechs turning them on each other.  
  
"Shepard, all docking bays are now clear of hostile weaponry,  they are scrambling to bring in armed personnel." Legion's voice came over the comms,  he was in the process of hacking the databases to retrieve intel on the location of the company they were looking for and any key personnel. "You heard him,  let's get in there. Go heavy and armed,  they fire at you, shoot to kill them. We aren't here to fuck around and play more games."   
  
All 5 ships bumped into the respective bays,  Legion activated the clamping system and all the Spectres rushed out,  weapons ready. Noveria security was still trying to get the doors of the facility to open when they came face to face with 5 heavily armed and armored Spectres. "Move the fuck back from the doors,  put your weapons down this is your only warning."  
  
The security detail took a few steps back,  several of the Turians dropped their weapons,  they weren't stupid. The Asari moved back and off to the side, the Asari Spectre kept her weapon trained on them the entire time. The Humans looked like they weren't going to move, 3 weapons trained on them and charged up. They took a couple of steps back and the door unlocked.  
  
"You are interfering in the investigation into the murder of a Spectre,  attempted murder of 2 others. The aiding and abetting of a fugitive. Move back now." Shepard growled at them,  not dropping the aim of her SMG from the Human that stood in front of the group.  
  
"This isn't the Citadel you have no ...",  the Human didn't get to finish that sentence before having his face blown off by Shepard.   
  
"I'm done fucking around with this no authority here bullshit,  anyone else want to run their mouths or get in my way?" Shepard asked the guards who were staring in shock at her or the body laying in a pool of blood on the ground.  
  
"Spirits Shepard,  what is going on here." Came a male flanging voice from in back of the crowd. An older Turian was trying to push his way through to the front, stopping dead in his tracks at the body on the ground.  
  
"Lorik Qui'in? We are here on business. I like you, but don't get in my way,  this concerns the murder of a Spectre among other things. I have been pissed off twice now,  don't piss me off again, or this will get so much worse for every one that thinks they are going to stop us. I tried to make nice,  your security people forgot who the hell they were dealing with. Now step aside and let me finish my investigation then get off this shit hole that's worse then Omega for corruption." None of the Spectres had lowered their weapons,  all were held rock steady and pointed at the security,  Shepards was pointed at Lorik.  
  
"Come to my office and explain this." He told her,  his mandibles flicking,  he didn't so much as twitch any other part of his body.  
  
"Not necessary,  we have the company name and names of the people that work there. The best thing for you to do is back off and get your people out of my face before I really get mad." She was starting to lose patience with them when Lorik told them to get the hell back to work,  preferably in the opposite direction of where the Spectres were headed. Then he yelled for someone to clean up the body and scrub the mess from the floor.  
  
Shepard and the others headed straight for the medical supply company,  they had a business front where they filled various medical prescriptions and provided supplies for those of Port Hanshan. By the time they arrived to the office it had "closed" for the day. Shepard shot out the glass store front and went in anyway,  they heard people in the back scrambling and rushed to the back room. People were trying to delete files from the computer only to find their access had been denied,  they seen the downloading icon flashing and wasn't able to stop it. Someone had finally realized they could try to pull the plug and reached for it when a shot rang out, a neat bullet hole appeared in the wall  2 inches above the hand that was held out to disconnect the computer from the power source. "Touch that and the next thing with a bullet hole in it will be you and not the wall." Shepard growled out.  
  
"Download is now complete, information pertaining to the account and any account crossed reference with it,  is now being separated. Superfluous data will be purged."   
  
Shepard grabbed the closest worker and started to question them about the supplies sent to the account on Amaranthine,  where their boss was and what did they know about the attempt to recreate the genophage. The people were so scared of her all they did was cry and babble,  telling her they didn't know anything, all they were told was to delete the files and then leave Noveria. The order had come from an encrypted source,  they were all told to follow it when they were hired if one ever came through,  but none of them knew from where. The other Spectres rooted through any data pad files that weren't wiped out finding nothing pointing to locations of other offices or who could be in charge.  
  
"We're on the way back, keep working on that data while we head to the next location." Shepard and the other Spectres headed back to the dock,  there wasn't a single security officer anywhere to be seen.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut, smut and more smut.
> 
> Enjoy.
> 
> Thank you everyone for your continued support of the story. Your comments and kudos keep me writing, they are appreciated very much.

* * *

 

 

Feron set their course for the next location, the others in the team confirmed their settings, he informed Shepard it would be approximately 5 hours after the relay jump before they reached their next one. She did a quick cleaning of the SMG,  carefully placing in it back in its case when she was done.  
  
She headed toward the tiny Mess, retrieved a water and ration pouch then sat down to make out the report she would be filing with the Council. Legion told her his results on the shipments and money trails from the Medical supply business,  she added it to the report and Legion added another copy to the growing list of documents for the trial. Feron joined her a short time later,  getting his own meal before sitting across from her. She didn't look up at him but kept on writing out her report,  stopping only to grab a tube and tear it open with her teeth, squeezing some out of it then letting it hang in her mouth to go back to typing again.  
  
"Shepard,  Liara sent me the name of that Doctor with ties to Hallis, I'm still tracking his location,  I'll let you know when I find something. I was thinking, one of the places we have to go on that list,  is within a couple hours of Nos Astra, it's on the way ... sort of. Maybe we can have a layover there,  a day or two. Liara already said the apartment is ready for us, so that's not going to be an issue." Feron said to her, tossing the last of his tubes back into the empty ration pouch for easy clean up.   
  
"Depends on what we find, Feron. This bitch was given prior warning and is covering her tracks. If we want to catch her we may have to move fast and not take that kind of downtime. Let's wait and see what we find during the next few stops. I want to also check in with the other Spectre teams find out what they found. Let's do that first then we will figure out if we can spare that kind of time. We will need a refueling and restocking stop, but for a full day,  not sure we can spare it." She finished her last tube of rations and put the cap back on her empty bottle,  he gathered up all the trash and tossed it into the recycler. "Can you let me know about an hour before we hit the next location, I want to finish up this report and place a call to each of the other teams for an update, see if they are finding their sites empty as well."  
  
"Sure," he said to her, he walked back to her and stroked a hand down her hair, then used his fingers to tip her head up to him, placing a featherlight kiss on her lips. "Don't get to wrapped up in the work. You'll need to take time for yourself, maybe give me a bit of your time as well. I'll be here if you , hmm,  need me for anything." He brushed his hand down her shoulder then straightened and walked back toward the bridge. She watched him for a minute, then turned back toward her report. Staring at the datapad in front of her and not seeing the words. Closing her eyes she sat there, " _is this going to work having him on the ship?_ " A ship the size of the Normandy is one thing, Thane spent most of his time in the Life Support room,  except during their downtime together and when they went to bed. Even after they were married he spent his time there because even with the removal of the fish tank, EDI still couldn't filter out enough of the humidity to make him comfortable, especially when she was showering. She rubbed the area between her eyebrows with her thumb a few times,  then opened her eyes and got back to work.

 

* * *

  
  
When they arrived at the next site they found close to the same haphazardly evacuation they did at the first place,  only this time no rotting corpses. This one seemed to be a lab primarily for sample testing. They found several empty containers from the same medical supply company, a few test slides with something on it,  she had them pack it up carefully. The computer's data core hadn't been fully wiped,  Legion extracted everything he could.  "Feron, contact the Broker,  see if more intel can be dug up on this medical supply company,  I want to know who the owners are, they are probably buried deep. But they seem to be the sole supplier to this fucking mess,  there has to be ties in there somewhere to Linron." They kept looking but nothing else was worth taking. They headed back to their ships after spending another hour scouring the bunk room and storage areas for the workers finding nothing but a few small credit chits and a shoe.  
  


* * *

  
  
The next stop they would get to by the next day's cycle so they all agreed to meet after going through the Attican Beta relay into the Sentry Omega system, their next stop was on Virmire. She made sure to tell them that a nuclear explosion was set off on the one side of the planet. So to be prepared for radiation exposure if they needed to get close to that side. Legion told them according to his data it shouldn't be necessary,  the area they were headed to was on the far side of the planet. Shepard just told them better to be safe.  
  
Dinner that night was a quiet affair, several ration packs dumped in the middle of the table and bottles of water. Shepard once again had her nose in a datapad and writing up the report for the Council. Feron sat across from her trying not to disturb her but she hadn't said more then a handful of words to him since she had returned from the last base. "Shep,  what's going on,  we spent several hours on board together and you haven't spoken hardly at all with me. Did I do something wrong?"  
  
Shepard glanced up at him, a food tube in one hand the datapad in the other. "I'm working Feron,  this isn't like when Stone was on board and could goof around a bit. I need to concentrate,  get the reports filed and all the information for the trial, if there is one, together so we can nail her to the wall. When I am working this is the way it is. During downtime it can be different,  right now I don't have time to waste on downtime activities." Shepard dropped her gaze back down to the datapad and started to work on the portable terminal taking up a good portion of the table on her side. He looked at her then shook his head,  stood up and grabbed the trash, throwing it into the recycle machine with enough force for it to make a loud bang as it hit the back of it before the bag slid down the shoot. She looked up as he walked back toward the bridge.

 

* * *

  
  
"I need for all of you to send your team reports to me by 1200 hours the next solar day. I will be contacting the Council after I receive them and give them the current status of this mission. So far we have very few leads. Along with having no solid evidence against either Councillor. There has been no reports of sightings of either one so they are getting help from someone or they are hidden on the Citadel and never left. Take this time to restock and refuel, a short shore leave if you can. My group will be in Nos Astra,  I'll be in touch with you to give you the results of the meeting with the Council. Are there any questions?" Shepard waited as the team leads spoke with their own groups,  when no one had any questions she cut the connection.  
  
She walked up to the bridge where Feron seemed to have glued himself into the pilot's seat,  the only time he left since their semi sort of argument, was to get something to eat or use the facilities. He had even slept in the chair,  even though there was an open bunk. She sat in the navigator's chair and programmed the coordinates for Nos Astra. "If you sit in that chair much longer you're going to leave a butt groove in it." She told him before she got up and headed for the back of the ship to clean her SMG and rifle once more.  
  


* * *

  
  
Nos Astra was as busy as she remembered it being before the war, if any damage remained it wasn't in this area. They took the skycab to Liara's apartment, and dropped their small packs on the couch. There was a message light blinking on the holo screen and Shepard activated it,  Liara popped up and told them she went ahead and had groceries delivered to them. Everything was taken care of,  she was also looking into the matter of their missing "friends".  
  
Shepard grabbed her bag taking it up the spiral staircase to the loft area overlooking the rest of the apartment. She still couldn't believe all the artifacts that Liara had snuck off of Ilos, she was looking at a small display of plants and a piece of tablet when Feron came up the stairs. He dropped his bag on the bed,  and glanced at the fish tank. Liara told him that she had it installed when Shepard asked her to take the fish when she had the tank on the Normandy taken out. "It's getting close to dinner time, I checked the stuff that was delivered. We have ingredients for a pasta dish and salad, the usual stuff for breakfast. Eggs,  something that looks like meat, precut vegetables. She had them deliver those single serve packs of tea and coffee as well. If you make the pasta, I'll take care of clean up and breakfast."  
  
"Alright,  that sounds fair,  I'll take care of the clean up after breakfast,  then I'll need to finish up the preliminary reports. We can take a few hours tomorrow to go do something together if you want." Shepard took her bag and unpacked the bathroom supplies,  laid out a set of sleepwear then neatly put the rest of her clothes in the drawer,  tucking the duffle under the dresser.  
  
"Shep,  do you think we can go out tonight after we eat,  a club or something. Just for a few hours. Being cooped up on that ship makes me want to get out, walk a bit,  do something tonight. Or maybe we can use those things for lunch tomorrow and have dinner out." Feron was sitting on the bed, his one leg drawn up under him, he glanced at the clothes she had laid out, wishing it wasn't the usual shorts and tank, but something silky and sexy. He didn't even know if she even owned anything else to sleep in.  
  
"If that's what you want, sure,  we can go out for dinner tonight. It will need to be somewhere casual though,  so that leaves out most of Nos Astra," she laughed gently, everywhere you went the restaurants here were upscale. Except in the slightly rougher areas or those near the shopping district."There is one place, most of the Asari won't go there,  it's mainly human,  but there are others that go there as well.  The food is excellent, it is different then what you are probably used to though. I won't be staying out to late,  I'm already pretty tired,  it's been a long and frustrating couple of weeks. A nice hot bubble bath and some sleep sounds good to me after a meal of something other then ration tubes."  
  
 _'Nice hot sex sounds good to me.'_ Feron thought to himself. "Alright, I'm going to catch up on the news until you're ready to go." He stood up and looked at her, "Shep,  I'm sorry for the way I acted on the ship. I just ... I don't know. I just want to spend actual time with you, I know you are busy and need to work,  but I want to have a little of your time other then the few minutes we say goodnight in bed before you fall asleep. You haven't even let me kiss you other then that brushing of lips I gave you on board the ship since that night in your apartment."  
  
"Feron, you have to understand, this was the way I ran the missions on the Normandy. I am used to taking care of everything without interruptions unless it was important. With Thane's illness he spent most of the time in the Life support room,  and I have been doing missions alone since then. I know I promised to try forming a relationship with you, I will try and spend some more time with you. But this mission is important, and it has to come before anything else now." Shepard quietly told him,  approaching him where he was still standing near the bed. "Just give me a bit of time to adjust to having you on the ship." She very carefully touched his arm,  she felt his muscle tense and a shiver go down it.  
  
He closed his eyes, a low hum starting in his chest. His breathing changing to a light pant. Quick as lightening his arms shot out and wrapped around her drawing her closer. She drew in a breath as his lips pressed against hers,  the cool firmness moving against her own. She took the initiative and touched her tongue to the slight line dividing his bottom lip then sweeping across the seam, as his mouth opened to accept her inside he let out a low groan. He shifted one hand up to the back of her head, threading his fingers through the strands of her silky hair. Their breaths were harsh and fast, his hand on her waist drew her closer to his body,  hers moved up his chest one circling the back of his head, her fingers brushing along the ridge there. He slowly broke the kiss, his lips placing light pressings along her jawline to her neck, kissing the sensitive place behind her ear. Nibbling and licking, his low raspy whisper came to her, "let's skip dinner and go straight to bed."  
  
Shepard's stomach decided that was the perfect time to let out a growl so loud it drowned out the one coming from Feron's chest. They both started to laugh, "guess that is a no?" Shepard's cheeks held a blush, "sorry, but I'm starving for real food." Feron let out a hum, "alright,  hurry up so we can go eat then come back,  and pick up where we left off." He gave her a quick kiss before letting her go, quickly running down the stairs. She ran her hand down her clothes straightening them and trying to get her heart rate back under control before going downstairs.  
  
 _'Hmm, looks like I may have that chance at hot sex after all.'_   Feron grinned and thought to himself.

 

* * *

  
  
When they arrived at the small restaurant they were seated in one of the back rooms, the establishment was small, the lighting was very low, creating an intimate setting. They were sitting on large, brightly colored cushions placed on the floor along one side of the low table, a young human male came in and gave them both a brilliant smile. "Welcome back, Commander. How may we serve you this evening?" The young man said something else but Feron's translator was having a hard time with translating it. "Good evening, Aaron. My friend has never eaten here,  so please ask your parents to prepare a variety platter for us, including several fruit drinks and desserts. A large, fresh pot of tea,  would be most welcome. Also bring each of us a serving of Hibiscus Flower Wine"  
  
"Right away, Commander." The young male,  turned and quietly left the small room. He returned a few minutes later bearing a tray, it held a large pot,  a small bowl filled with small green leaves and another with white cubes, two small glasses and cups, and a small glass beaker containing a deep red liquid.  
  
Feron watched as the young man placed several of the green leaves into the cups,  then poured the steaming tea over it.  Then carefully poured the chilled red liquid into each of the small glasses and placed them in front of each of them,  before quickly leaving. Shepard explained what the drinks were,  adding the sugar cubes to her cup then adding a few to his. Feron picked up the small glass and took a small sip of the red liquid that Shepard told him was brewed using a flower known on Earth as Hibiscus. It was sweet and after he set it down opened his omni tool and looked up the flower.   
  
A short while later Aaron came back along with several others carrying platters, filled with small dishes of various foods,  another bearing a platter filled with small carafes. They spoke to Shepard asking how she was and told her they were happy to see her again. The two older people,  who were the owners,  gave her their condolences once again for the loss of her husband,  they remembered him in their prayers. Then thanked her again for helping them to rebuild their restaurant after the war. They soon left the two to their meal.  
  
Shepard pulled one of the platters toward them,  explaining each of the dishes,  placing a small amount on each of their plates. Feron ate some of each of them, and told her which ones he liked the best, she did it for each of the other platters as well. When they had finished she pressed a small button and the group came back to remove the platters, bringing ones filled with sweet desserts and a fresh pot of tea.  
  
When they had sampled all of the fruity desserts she opened the silver box that was the only thing left and a small cloud of icy cold air wafted out, a small shelf raised up holding 2 small plates with what looked like wafers and a small swirled pile of some type of frozen cream. "This is Kirimi,  they hand make it here in a very small amounts. Other members of their family grow the orchids and roses that is used to make it. It is very cold and very sweet. Eat a small amount then drink some tea,  it will keep your throat from becoming sore."   
  
As they ate the last of their meal, Feron leaned toward her, "you brought Thane here then?" She nodded as she took a drink of the hot tea,  "yes,  I brought him here the first time I met him,  we just recruited him and Garrus was complaining he was hungry. So we split up,  he headed to one of the dextro friendly places and I brought Thane here. He was intrigued by the different foods, textures and customs of the owners. He also was interested in the fact that many of the foods here are made using flowers or roots. We came here often, well as often as we could, what with fighting against the Collectors. During the war,  this was one of the places that was destroyed. As you could probably tell from what we seen on the way here,  the Asari spent most of their time rebuilding their precious trade area, not caring about the other species that was here on Nos Astra. A little over 3 months after the war ended Liara received a message from Aaron, they had been struggling with basic necessities here, while the more influential Asari was taking advantage and instead of helping the other inhabitants to recover, they were instead only offering contracts of indenture. Aaron's parents were one of the ones that signed contracts,  just so their family could eat,  have clothing." Shepard stopped talking long enough to take another bite of the frozen treat and some tea.  Feron was listening attentively his brow ridges drawn down, "I didn't see any of this in the Broker's files."  
  
"This was before you were rescued. Liara was so furious with her own people,  she went all Shadow Broker on their asses. Sent out vids and intel to all of the other species homeworlds and the Councillors came down hard on the Asari... for once. Most of the contracts were cancelled, the Asari Matriarchs let them know they wanted nothing to do with the companies that refused to release what the Matriarchs considered illegal contracts, amounting to no more then slavery. Those companies soon found themselves ostracized from suppliers, businesses refused to accept any of their contracts. They ended up having to close down and give up those contracts anyway. From there I told Liara to help start a rebuilding effort here for non Asari based businesses, and provided a large fund for them. Many other's helped and it's taken a while, but the businesses and homes in this area are starting to recover."  
  
Aaron came and collected the empty plates and cups,  asking if she required anything more,  they both thanked him for their meal and declined anything further. Several minutes passed before they got up to leave,  Shepard ran her omni tool across the datapad that Aaron had left on their table.   
  
They meandered through the shopping district, stopping in a few stores, one of which was a glass shop that Feron had spied at the one end of the street. They went in,  looked around. He brought Liara a small delicate copy of the Normandy SR2 in spun glass, and he surprised Shepard by buying her a spun glass underwater scene of Kahje, it was a large mural for her apartment wall. They asked it be crated up and sent to the ship. They finished their walk,  this time Feron had taken her by the hand drawing her closer to him and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. When they were waiting for the air cab to arrive he pulled her into his arms, gently cupping her cheek. Tipping her head up he kissed her,  his lips firm and cool against hers. His hum of arousal and need was barely audible to her, he was keeping his passion under control since they were in public.  
  
The ride back to Liara's was spent with him trying to get her shirt off,  her trying to keep his hands under control and her clothes on. She barely made it through the door when he was trying again, "Feron, you need to slow down a little." She held his hands pressed against her hips keeping them from wondering. His face was buried in her shoulder, licking and biting along her neck. "I'll slow down once we get into the bed, if you still want slow. We can make love nice and easy, afterward I'll draw you the hot bubble bath you wanted. Then carry you back to bed, take you again and again before morning's light. I will make sure to bring you such pleasure, whatever you want, however you want it. All you need to do is tell me yes."     
  
Shepard had her eyes closed, the feelings of need, desire and want he was creating in her making her mind fuzzy, her body was reacting and it was becoming hard to deny either of them. Her body reminded her how much pleasure he created for her the last time they were together, and how much more may be possible if she allowed him to fully make love with her. Her desire for him was growing,  she could feel herself becoming damp,  a pulsing beginning deep in her core. She was clutching at the open lapels of his coat, her hands had moved of their own accord and unbuckled it at some point. His lips trailed light kisses back to her own, his tongue pushing inside, sliding against hers.  His hand slowly moving up her body, carefully taking one one of her breasts in his hand. He felt the pebbled hardness of her nipple pressing against his palm and let out a groan, gently he used his palm to press in on her as his fingers caressed her. He could smell her arousal,  and it made his own desire for her soar even further,  he wanted her,  badly.  
  
She broke the kiss,  panting in rapid breaths, her lips moist and slightly puffy from the roughness of the kiss. She opened her eyes to look at him, her pupils were so dilated all he could see was the black of them, the color of her iris lost. He scooped her up and slowly carried her up the stairs, the winding staircase felt like it was a mile long to him, not one short flight. Setting her on her feet, he kissed her one more time, "Shep, may I undress you, let me have the pleasure of doing it,  please." She could do no more then nod and hold onto him.  
  
Carefully lifting the hem of her shirt, raising it up and lifting it off of her,  to bare her bra covered chest to him. He gazed at her breasts,  remembering their weight in his palms,  the texture and taste of her skin against his tongue. He looked into her eyes,  waiting for some type of signal that he could go further. He watched as she reached for the snap closure at the front,  pausing for just a second. A flash of hesitancy in her eyes,  quickly replaced by one of desire ,  she used her thumb and index finger on the snap, the cups of the lacy black bra separated. He slowly reached out and brushed his hands on her shoulders, sliding the straps off of them, watching as she lowered her arms,  the bra fell revealing her once more to his gaze.  
  
"You're as beautiful as I remember, Shep." Feron whispered,  his dual voices husky from desire and the deep trilling sounds coming from him. She reached out and unbuckled the arm guards letting them fall to the floor, swiftly followed by his coat; he was wearing one with half gloves built in instead of the usual fully gloved one, making it easier to remove. He brushed his hand along her hair, down her neck and shoulder,  feather light,  watching as her skin raised in small bumps as she shivered from his touch.  
  
Her hands made fast work of all the hidden snaps and zips that held his vest in place, shoving it over his shoulders and down his arms. She ran her hands over his chest as he pulled her toward him, a long kiss was shared, the growls and vibrations from his chest heightening her desire further. He carefully and gently pushed her back toward the bed, until she sat on the edge. He kneeled in front of her,  removing her shoes and socks. He ran his hands up her legs, as he drew closer to her center, the scent of her arousal was strong. He drew in a shuddering breath,  kissing a line up her body reaching her breasts. He palmed one while he took the other nipple in his mouth,  gently sucking and licking,  until her heard her moan. Her hands came up to cradle his head to her,  stroking along the crown ridges. He laid her down on the bed without breaking their contact, he followed her down laying by her side.  
  
His hand brushed along her side, and across her abdomen, with a quick flick of his fingers he popped open the first button of her pants. His licked his way up to her neck where he lightly nibbled and sucked on the sensitive spot he found on her earlier, flicking open another button as he did so. Feeling her run her hand up his arm to his shoulder and dig in her nails,  he groaned and bit into her neck. He quickly undid the last of the buttons,  and with a quick lick of his tongue to soothe the bite he slid down the bed, tugging her pants off as he did,  leaving her in a pair of black silk and lace panties.  
  
She heard the low growl coming from Feron,  a second before she felt his lips start to trail kisses up her inner thighs, "Shep, there is something I wanted to do, will you let me?" He whispered against her inner thigh just inches from her center,  his breath warm against her leg. Her answer comes in the form of a moan and the widening of her legs. He slid his hands to her hips and tugged on the panties,  lowering them down her legs and dropping them on the floor. She was bared before him, glistening with moisture. Her body quivering as he started to kiss along her leg again, her breathing became more rapid the closer he got to her core. Finally he used his fingers to gently separate her, his tongue carefully licked along the outer fold. Her scent intoxicated him,  her taste tangy on his tongue.   
  
He circled the little nub he knew would bring her the most pleasure,  his tongue teasing her until her back arched and she pressed into his mouth. He anchored her legs and used his tongue unmercifully on her, until he heard her scream out her first orgasm. Her body shaking,  her fists clenched tightly in the covers of the bed. He gentled his ministrations until her body relaxed back into the bed. His hands stroking her skin, "tell me yes, Shep. I need to hear it." He move up the bed,  still stroking, licking,  kissing as her body became restless. Her breathy moans increased when his fused fingers slowly entered her. Her body was still clenching in aftershocks, as he moved his fingers inside of her,  curling and thrusting until he felt the tiny rough patch inside that had her thrusting against his hand and thrashing her head on the pillow.  
  
"Say it."  He whispered into her ear.  He started to move against her thigh letting her feel the slide of his cock,  the natural lube he produced from his ridges aiding him. "Tell me you want me, that you want to feel me inside of you."   
  
"Feron," she moaned out as she clutched the covers,  her hips raising and grinding against him. He removed his hand and she gasped as he spread her legs further,  moving between them and teasing her entrance with the head of his cock."Say it, Shep,  there can be no misunderstanding, no regret,  say it. Say yes. Let go of the control and tell me what you want."  
  
"Feron,  please." She gripped his upper arms tightly, trying to grind into him so he would enter her. "Not until you tell me yes." He hovered at her entrance, sliding against her the tiniest bit, feeling her heat bathing him. She opened her eyes, a hunger for him he had never seen in any of his other lovers, blazed in her eyes. Pulling his head down till his lips were but a whisper away from contacting her own, "yes, I want you, now."  
  
He exhaled,  his warm breath on her lips as he pushed into her,  stretching her. The fit still so snug around him. He stopped when she gasped and flexed her hand that was still on his shoulder. He waited as best he could until her body relaxed again, kissing her as he thrust into her as deep as he could, her nails dug down into his scales causing him to groan.  
  
He pulled out as much as he dared then thrust hard back into her, still not hilting,  he wanted her to take all of him,  he needed it. He growled, thrusting again, burying his head into her neck. "Easy, Feron." Shepard gasped out, she was trying not to sound pained from the combination of his thickness and length, as he kept thrusting into her. He bit her, seemingly not hearing her as he withdrew and slammed back into her, pushing in harder then before. She gripped his shoulder, trying to get him to listen. "Feron,  it's hurting." She felt him hiss next to her ear. His hand moving down to her hip and thigh,  raising her leg to wrap around him. The vibrations started from his chest, the purring as he tried to comfort her. He raised his head and blinked his eyes several times. He dropped his forehead onto hers and whispered, "I'm sorry. I wanted this for too long, I lost myself." He closed his eyes,  a mournful sound coming from him.  
  
He started to gently pull out of her, stopping at her hiss. "I don't want to stop, Feron. Just easy, for now." She brought him back down to kiss him, her hands moving along his shoulders again, down his arms. He closed his eyes and started to move more gently, Shepard relaxed. When she groaned and started to lift her hips to his, he started to move faster, her hands returning to his back. He hissed as he felt her fingernails dig in,  he knew some of his scales would become loose but he didn't care. He picked up the pace, noticing as Shepard became more aggressive in her movements against him, she was able to take more of his length. He was losing himself again in her body when she changed her grip on him, in one quick motion she rolled them over. She smirked down at him, widening her thighs a bit more and easing herself down on him even more,  he watched as she started to rock her hips on him.  Slowly easing herself down further.  
  
It was so different then their first time, he remembered her being out of control,  but they were both drunk. This time she was completely aware of every sensation of every ridge and inch of him. She heard him gasp as she started to rock harder,  the grip he had on her changed as did the humming vibrations from his chest. He had almost reached the first of his orgasms, he barely had enough time to warn her before he grabbed her to hold her still. The feeling of him throbbing inside of her with his release was incredible,  the ridges rubbing against her soft inner folds was something she had forgotten. She looked down at his face, his eyes were closed tightly and his mouth slightly open. She waited until he relaxed under her before she once more started to move, her hands caressing his chest and abdomen as she leaned back. He raised his hips to her own sending him just a bit deeper, _God's almost there_.    
  
His spent semen acted as another lube making it easier for her to accept him as her body glided on his. He grunted then held her still, struggling not to release again, he pulled out of her carefully then moved up behind her,  he heard her indrawn breath. "I'll be careful," he whispered to her as he bent her over,  pushing a pillow up under her hips raising her. He eased his way back into her,  she groaned and shivered as each ridge disappeared inside her, he grinned as he felt her tightening up around him. _So this is the way to get her to lose herself when she is fully in control._  
  
He held still,  his hands moving over her hips, waist,  then up and down her back. When she moaned again and he felt the quiver he pushed in deeper,  another ridge disappearing inside,  just a few more inches and he would be fully seated in her. He started to move inside her, slowly at first then faster as she pushed back against him, "more Feron, harder." His grin got even bigger and he tightened his hold on her hips. His thrusting became faster,  harder, the more she cried out, and he watched as his cock hilted in her, he let out a harsh trill as he came again, she gave a soundless scream as her body shook violently gaining her own release. He pulled her hard against him,  keeping himself fully seated in her as the aftershocks of her orgasm continued to squeeze tightly around him. "God's, Shep." Feron moaned out as he carefully pulled out and collapsed on the bed beside her.  
  
Shepard fell forward onto the bed with a groan. They both laid there panting, sweat glistening on Shepard's back. Her eyes popped open and she mumbled to him, "I want my bubble bath, " which caused him to start laughing. "As soon as I can move without my legs crumbling under me, I'll draw it as I promised. Just be ready for me to do everything I promised." He heard her indrawn breath and the throaty moan that came from her as she realized what he meant.  
  



	13. Chapter 13

* * *

 

 

The next morning, Feron woke up next to Shepard who had sprawled herself across him and had somehow taken up most of the king sized bed. He laid there for a few minutes enjoying the feeling of her beside him,  replaying the memories of last night. There was no way he was ever going to let her go. He was more certain now that he desperately needed to bind her to him,  but he was still uncertain how. He laid there stroking her back and arm as he fantasized how it would be to wake up every morning with her in his arms. Growing old beside her, watching their children and their grandchildren grow up. He didn't care if the human children weren't his biologically or if the drell's weren't hers in the same way,  they would be their children. Oh but how fun it would be to try and create their own, night after night,  with years of being together.   
  
"Hey,  what are you thinking about,  you had a far away look in your eyes. Not to mention a wicked grin on your face." Shepard asked him. He grinned at her then rolled her over covering her body with his, she felt his hardened cock nestle between her legs. He raised his brow ridge at her, "guess." She let out a throaty laugh that turned into a groan as he shifted and thrust his fingers into her.  
  
"Hmm,  someone is rather wet this morning. Have any good dreams?" He whispered into her ear as he continued thrusting and curling his fingers in her. He felt her start to shake,  pulled his fingers out and slid his cock into her. "Is this what you were dreaming of, my cock sliding inside of you. Fucking you hard in the morning. I could smell your arousal, you know. Wrap your legs around me, Shep. Let me take you hard and deep. I want to feel you come,  that body squeezing me so tightly. I can't get enough of you,  I want to hear you scream out my name again and again." He closed his eyes as he heard her moaning and panting,  crying out his name as his thrusts became harder and deeper. It was easier now for her to take all of him,  her body adjusting to his own. He felt her tighten again and knew she was getting close,  he wasn't ready yet,  he wanted more. He hissed and threw his head back as she came,  her body squeezing his like a vice,  clamping down so hard around him that he was held in place.   
  
As soon as her hold on him relaxed he started to pump into her again, his own moans echoing hers. He knew he was using her hard, but he couldn't stop, he felt his balls tightening, the burning in his lower abdomen, he was getting close. He shifted to his knees bringing her hips up to him and arching her back. He gazed down on her watching her breasts move as he plowed into her, her eyes were closed,  her mouth open on a moan. He grunted as he thrust deeper yet,  hilting each time,  the sound of their flesh slapping together heard over the sounds of their combined moans. "Again, Shep. Come for me again." He was gritting his teeth,  holding his orgasm back until she had her second, it was going to be close. He moved his one hand  and used his thumb to rub against the little nub,  flicking it until he felt her start to shake again, his thrusting grew faster and he rubbed harder on her clit until she screamed and came, sending him into his own orgasm as he shouted out her name, pouring himself into her. He slid in and out of her a few more times as the aftershocks from her started to subside, his head thrown back and eyes closed,  pushing deep once more and grinding her against him then withdrawing.  
  
He opened his eyes and looked down at her, his cock still hard against her, semen dripping from the head onto her abdomen. He lowered her hips to the bed,  then laid down beside her, "damn woman. Now that is the way to spend a morning."  
  
She rolled over and snuggled up against him, still feeling the throbbing in her core from his possession of her, she felt some of his semen drip onto her thigh and didn't care. "I can't lay here too much longer,  I have a lot of work to do this morning." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Just a little while longer." She slid her arm around his waist and listened to his breathing slowing down to a more relaxed version then the harsh out of breath one from just having sex. Once again she had her head pillowed on his chest, listening to his lungs. He never mentioned it to her after she told him of the sounds that came from Thane's. He just let her listen to his clear lungs,  eventually she would shift and lay on his shoulder.  
  
"Shep,  remember on the ship when I suggested you have a vacation? Have you thought more about what I said?" He started to run his hand up and down her forearm. "Do you mean after this mess is over spending time with you on board the Broker's ship?" She felt him humming and rubbed her face on his shoulder. "I did think some on it, I told the Council that I will be taking an extended leave of absence,  but then this mess really started to blow up. I don't know Feron, I don't want to go making promises or plans that we can't keep. Let's just see what happens." She placed a few brief kisses against his shoulder and soft ribbing before moving and rolling over to get out of bed. "I'm taking a shower,  we can get something to eat, then I need to go over my reports. See if the other Spectres had sent any to me and if Liara has found any intel on the missing Council members or anything connected to this shit."   
  
She was gathering up a set of sweats and panties when he snuck up behind her, "a shower sounds wonderful." He rubbed against her, she felt him stirring against her ass. She gasped, "Feron,  we just, mmm...",  she gave a soft throaty moan as he gently bit then suckled the sensitive spot between her neck and shoulder. "I'll make it a quick one, just once more before you get lost in work." His one hand was on her breast,  the other was sliding down her stomach to between her legs. "Come back to bed, afterward you can get your shower and I can use the portable sand bath,  have breakfast. While you talk with the Council,  I can talk with Liara. Then we can spend the rest of the day in bed." He started walking backward toward the bed pulling her with him. He turned at the last minute, " kneel on the edge, " he waited for her to comply then carefully bent her forward. With a growl and a groan he slid into her waiting heat.

 

* * *

  
  
"That damn Feron, "I'll make it a quick one",  he says." Shepard was scrubbing her body under the hot spray of water as fast as she could, "I can't believe him."  She jumped out of the shower quickly drying off,  glancing at the time on her omni tool. She had started to receive the reports from the Spectres hours ago while Feron kept her distracted in bed,  now she needed to hurry and go over them so she could make her report to the Council.  
  
Shepard went barrelling down the stairs jumping the last few,  racing into the kitchen to grab one of the single serving tea packets and hot water from the machine. As she was waiting she started to read over the first of the reports. She heard Feron come into the kitchen behind her, he was trilling and humming happily, she glanced his way with a frown. He just gave her a devilish grin and kissed her cheek. Pulling all the breakfast items from the cooler he started to cook them their breakfast even though it was closer to noon. She took her tea over to the table and sat down ignoring the waves of happiness rolling off of Feron and concentrated on her work.  
  


* * *

  
  
"That's all we have so far Councillors,  someone has gone through a lot of trouble and expense covering up for them. I have people tracking the ownership of the medical supply company, and so far there has been no word about either of the other Councillors showing up at any terminals or ports. They are getting help from someone there,  or a group of someones. We still have 4 more known locations to investigate. Once we are done that I will report back,  hopefully with some better news."  
  
"Acknowledged Shepard. We shall also let it be known here on the Citadel that anyone helping the two fugitive Council members will now also be held responsible for any fall out this causes,  they are now accomplices to the crimes. Hopefully if we offer rewards or offers of leniency we can get someone to roll over. Keep in touch,  if we hear anything we will contact you. Sparatus out."  
  


* * *

  
  
"My don't you look like the feline that ate the blackbird ... is that what the human's say? It didn't sound right." Liara scratched at her forehead. Feron just smiled and shrugged. She stared at him a while longer,  then raised her eyebrow and grinned. "Well it's about time,  she is going to remember it this time I hope?"   
  
He smirked, "oh,  I think she is going to remember last night,  this morning and if I have my way the rest of the day,  for a very,  very long time. Everyday afterward if I can just figure out how to go about it. But that is for later, we need intel,  Liara. All of the leads we find are fairly useless, they are all connected to the Dalatrass and that medical company in some way,  but it's not substantial enough." He watched as Liara made a note into the datapad on her desk.  
  
"I have found where that Salarian doctor is hiding out, a small planet,  named Casbin. That world is protected by the Citadel laws,  it is a pre garden world and any landing on it is a punishable offense. There was a small Geth encampment there when we were on the first Normandy,  my guess that is what he is using as a shelter. Since it is listed as a Sanctuary World,  he would normally be safe there until found out by the Council. Shepard has the authority as Spectre to go in and land on those worlds, she just needs to keep her temper and not destroy things."  
  
Liara scrolled through another datapad, "that medical supply company's ownership records are unusually convoluted,  even for a company based from Noveria. I'm still digging up more. Let me know if Shepard is able to do anymore of those jobs on the way to grab that Salarian and the last places on her list. Hopefully I can turn up something in the meantime."  
  
"I'll let her know, I am just hoping she won't jump up and want to leave right away. I want one more night with her before she goes back into work mode and it becomes hard to draw her back to me again."   
  
Feron tapped his fingers on the desk. "What is going on in that mind of yours, Feron." She watched as Feron looked toward the door,  then turned back to her. "How did he do it, Liara? How did Thane win her heart? How did he talk her into marriage when he was dying? How did he wind himself around her heart so fast and tightly that she didn't even consider another relationship for years,  and probably wouldn't have if things hadn't happened like they did." His hand turned into a fist, "How do I get her to fall in love with me? I want to be the one she thinks about, the one she wants. Damn it, I want to be the one she looks forward to spending an eternity with. To find on the shores waiting for her. Not Thane." He hissed out quietly so Shepard wouldn't hear him,  he blinked several times and took a deep breath trying to calm his emotions. "I know she is going to always love him, and that's ok. But damn it... he's dead,  I'm here, I'm alive and I want her to see me,  to want me like she did him.  What do I have to do, Liara?"  
  
Liara looked at him with sadness in her eyes,  she hated seeing him unsure of himself. He has tried to deal with his love for Shepard for so many years,  and then to have her there,  and her not sharing the depth of his feelings,  has to be devastating him. "I don't know Feron. From what Garrus and the others told me when I talked with them briefly when I visited the ship after becoming the Shadow Broker,  they told me it was on her part, love at first sight of him. It was her that constantly went to him, talked to him,  listened to him. Kept him by her side on almost every mission. When they stopped Kolyat,  that was when,  according to Shepard,  he finally gave in and admitted his attraction to her. Things progressed from there,  a few months after that they announced they were married. They had a civil ceremony in one of the chapels on the Citadel when they were there on shore leave, without telling anyone else." She watched as he closed his eyes,  seemingly to collapse in on himself. She heard him let out a choked trill.  
  
"I don't stand a chance in the human's hell of getting her to fall in love with me,  do I?" He whispered.   
  
"Don't give up, Feron. You are one step closer then you were before. Stay by her side. She is not fickle. She has given you her body and said she was willing to try a relationship with you. Her eyes won't stray to another." Liara's heart was breaking for her friend. But there was nothing more she could do, it was all up to him now.  
  


 

* * *

  
  
Shepard was compiling reports for the other Spectres when Feron finally came out of the back office. When she looked up at him she noticed he was not as happy as he was when they came downstairs. Something had happened during that call to Liara that caused him to become quiet. He didn't look at her, just went into the kitchen,  she frowned when he took down the bottle of whiskey from the cabinet and poured a hefty amount into a glass then took it upstairs without saying a word to her.   
  
Shepard finished up her report then sent it out over the Spectre intermail system. Then went up the stairs to the loft. Feron was laying in the bed wearing only a set of sweatpants, the empty glass on the nightstand and his arm thrown over his eyes. His clothes he had put on earlier was thrown haphazardly on a chair,  so unlike his normal habit of folding them neatly after removing them. Well unless she was stripping him and they just let them fall.  
  
"Feron,  what's wrong? What happened during that call to cause this?" Shepard waited,  but he didn't say anything to her,  didn't even bother taking his arm from over his eyes. "Feron, talk to me."  
  
"Liara found the Salarian Doctor,  the info is on a datapad on her desk." His voice was flat,  emotionless. Not even his natural tendency to use his second vocal box was there, he rarely ever talked to her without using it.  Shepard slipped out of the fuzzy bunny slippers she kept at the apartment and crawled up into the bed beside him. He didn't even make any attempt to wrap his arms around her,  causing her to frown even more.  
  
"What's going on here, Feron? This morning you were all over me,  you were happy when you went in to talk with Liara, now you're ... I don't know,  despondent."  
  
"Nothing's wrong. Just need to think something through,  come to terms with something that may never happen." He moved his arm down and rolled away from her. "Whenever you decide you want to leave to go after that doctor let me know,  Liara also wanted to know if you are going to be able to do any of those side jobs on the way to get him. I'm going to grab a quick nap before then. I'm sure you want to head out soon, instead of waiting until morning like what was originally planned."  
  
When he said nothing more to her and made no move to do anything else,  she rolled off the bed with a puzzled looked on her face. Scratched her head,  put her slippers on then headed downstairs. Her first stop was to get some tea, once that was done she went into Liara's back office where Feron had been. Sat on the chair and read over the datapad. She remembered Casbin,  and reminded herself that since it was a Sanctuary world she would need to be very careful about damaging anything,  especially the ecosystem. She tossed the datapad on the desk then placed a call to Liara.  
  
"Shepard, what can I do for you?" Liara said to her after the call was accepted.  
  
 "We need to talk,  what the hell went on with Feron when he was in here talking with you earlier?" Liara looked at her,  then scratched her forehead,  a habit she clearly had picked up from Shepard, before she started to tell her about Feron.

 

* * *

  
  
Shepard pulled a chair up in front of the giant windows and looked out on the Nos Astra skyline. She was trying to take in everything Liara had told her. She knew Feron loved her, the depths of which was still surprising to her. How he was hoping for more then she might be able to give him,  even if she did come to feel more for him then the sexual desire he stirred in her. Liara wanted her to spend more time with him, that maybe the feelings for him would gradually change from a friendship to love. She closed her eyes and took some deep breaths,  trying to get her mind to calm like Thane had taught her.   
  
She had just entered into the weightless state,  her mind free and clear when she heard next to her ear, _"We can love more then once in a lifetime, Siha."_  
  
Her eyes snapped open, she caught a scent she had missed for so many years. Spices, leather and gun oil swirled around her, "Thane?" The scent dissipated as quickly as it had appeared leaving her with tears in her eyes. She sat back in her chair and thought about what she had heard.  
  


* * *

  
  
Feron woke to the smell of food cooking. Looking at the time on his omni tool he noticed several hours had passed. He laid there confused about why she was waiting so long to leave,  normally she would barely wait until she was dressed before running out the door barking orders to others. He got up and used the facilities then walked down the stairs.   
  
He seen the table set for two, a bottle of Thessia Red chilling in a bucket of ice,  the strangest thing was Shepard standing at the stove stirring something in a pot and ... dancing? She was humming a tune that must have been coming from the device he noticed strapped to her upper arm that emitted the same glow as the things she had in her ears.  He watched her shake her ass, tilt her head up and down,  tap her foot in those ridiculous pink slippers with an animal head on them with impossibly long ears. He leaned against the counter and watched her, he doubt many have ever witnessed her doing something like this and he wanted the memory of it.  
  
She took a small spoon out of the drawer next to her and dipped it into the pot,  purse her lips and gently blew on what he saw was some sort of sauce mixture. He almost groaned as she put the spoon in her mouth and slid it out between her lips. _One of these days,  he'll ask her about what he saw on that human porn he watched._ She put in another small handful of green herbs she had in a bowl on the counter then gave the pot another stir. She had just put the spoon on the rest when she turned and saw him, screamed and stomped both feet before smacking him on the arm.  
  
"Damn you, how long have you been standing there?" She asked as she removed the small plugs from her ears,  putting them in a small pocket of her pants. "Not long. What are you doing cooking? I thought we would have been leaving here by now,  if not already left."  
  
"We'll leave in the morning as planned. I sent through the info on the location of that doctor and Legion plotted us a course to take care of two of Liara's jobs on the way there. The Salarian must feel safe,  tucked away on a planet no one is supposed to be on so it won't hurt to let him go on thinking it for a little while longer. I thought we would have an early dinner,  there is a show I would like to go see,  an old Earth movie is playing in the Retro Theater near the restaurant we ate at last night. I think you may like it." She smiled at him,  which caused him to blink at her with both eyelids.  
  
"Alright,  let me get dressed then." He started to turn away when she placed a hand on his abdomen,  causing him to tense up. "You're fine the way you are." She scraped her nails down his muscles there before stopping at the waistband of his pants, then dropping away. He swallowed then whispered, "alright."  
  
She turned back around to finish the sauce, " can you get down the salad bowl,  all of the stuff has been cut up already,  just dump it all in there. And put it on the table,  as soon as I drain the pasta and dish it up everything will be ready. She reached over and hit a button on the small toaster oven she had sent Liara a year ago for her birthday. "Shep,  where did you get all these vegetables,  they weren't in the order that was sent when we first got here."  
  
"Mm,  no I placed an order while you were asleep. After seeing that stuff they sent as pasta sauce I tossed it in the garbage where it belonged and ordered the ingredients. It's a wonder you didn't wake up sooner,  it's been simmering on the stove for hours now." She carefully poured the boiling pot of water into a strainer sitting in the sink. While it was draining she grabbed the toasted cheesy garlic bread from the oven that had just dinged, and placed it on the trivet that was on the table. Grabbed both plates dishing up the pasta noodles and covered them with sauce, while Feron had placed the bowl on the table next to the salad tongs Shepard already had laid out. Then opened the bottle of wine, pouring each of them a glass full before placing it back in the ice bucket.  
  
Feron served up the salad then they sat down to eat. She watched as he took his first bite of the pasta dish, "so how do you like it?" He nodded,  grabbed another fork full of noodles. She handed him a piece of the bread, "here take this and break off a piece, dip it into the sauce, like this, " she ran the bread through some of the sauce on her plate then ate it. He copied her, when he swallowed it he asked what it was. "It's called cheesy garlic bread, goes great with this type of pasta dish."  
  
She told him about the call she put in to the Council,  "do you think anyone there is going to turn them in? So far no one has." He got up and dished some more of the pasta and sauce on his plate after asking if she wanted more. Then sat down as she sipped some of her wine, "I honestly don't know." They continued to eat,  they were almost done when Shepard's omni tool let out a ping.  
  
"Caller Identify."  
  
"Tytus" She accepted the call.  
  
"What's up Tytus? Anything happening,  news?"  
  
"Nothing of that nature,  just letting you know Stone and I are at the Nos Astra docks. Where the hell are you at?"   
  
She laughed then gave them the address. They had just put their dirty dishes into the auto washer when the door chime went off. Feron went over and check their identities then opened the door for them.  
  
"Damn, Shepard. I thought that place of yours on the Citadel was nice." Both of the males came in carrying duffles,  Feron didn't like the looks of it, he had a feeling they were going to weasel their way into spending the night at the apartment. "This actually belongs to a friend of ours." Feron told them.  
  
Stone stopped then sniffed the air, "God damn ... that's cheesy garlic bread I'm smelling isn't it. Got any left?" He dropped his duffle on the couch then made a bee line for Shepard who was standing in the kitchen making Stone a plate of food. He started shoveling the noodles in his mouth as fast as he could,  then groaned when he took a huge bite of the bread." Damn,  you made this didn't you?" At her nod he grinned at her, "forget that Drell,  marry me Shepard." She just started laughing at him.  
  
Feron heard him and started to growl,  flexing his hands and started to move toward the other male when Tytus grabbed him by the arm. "Easy,  it's a human thing. He didn't mean it. Look at her,  she isn't taking him seriously." Feron shook off the Turians hand then headed up the stairs to change clothes. Shepard came up a few minutes later,  he had just went into the closet to hang up his leathers he had taken off earlier that morning and grab a fresh set when she followed him into the small closet causing him to back into the rack behind him, rattling the hangers and knocking some of them to the floor. The door slid closed behind her and she pressed up against him,  he dropped the hanger's holding his leathers, grabbed her as she went up on her toes and started to kiss him. His eyes were blinking rapidly as he felt her tongue testing the seam of his lips, he groaned and opened to her,  holding her closer as he deepened the kiss. He lifted her and her legs wrapped around him,  she still had on those stupid slippers,  if he wasn't so busy pushing the hangers on the side to the floor or to the other end of the pole he would have laughed.  
  
He slammed her back against the wall of the closet,  rubbing against her. He growled dropping her legs down and practically ripping the drawstring apart to get them open enough to push them down her legs and off. He did rip her panties from her before lifting her up and pushing his cock into her,  he didn't give her any time to adjust for him,  and she didn't seem to need any,  as she ground against him as he thrust into her. She had a hold of the bar thanking Liara's sense in having it bolted to the walls and not one that was tension based, "harder,  Feron. I want more." He growled at her,  buried his face in her neck and pounded into her,  hell with any type of technique,  this was nothing more then a pure fast fuck. "God,  yes." Shepard moaned next to his head,  his grip on her ass tightened as he gave her everything he had.  
  
"Feron,  kiss me quick,  I'm gonna come." He groaned and did as she commanded. Her body gripping his, pulling him in as far as he could go and his own orgasm followed right after hers. His breathing was harsh as he held her against the wall,  it was the only thing at this point holding him upright,  his knees felt like they were full of wobbly jelly. Her kiss gentled and her hands came to rest at the back of his head. Stroking the small ridges at his neck and the larger crown ridges at the sides of his head.  
  
"That was amazing, Feron." She leaned in kissing his ribbing, sucking lightly at the base of his throat, she felt him twitch inside of her, she gave the area a lick and he groaned, she felt him release a small amount of cum in her. She licked him again, up the ribbing on the side of his neck while applying a light pressure against the other side, he moaned and pushed inside of her until she was tight against him. Her legs wrapped around him and she kept up the licking and stroking until she felt him throb inside her and was bathed in the warmth from his second release. "Hope to hell nothing is laying under me,  the second you pull out,  I'm gonna drip like crazy."  He gave a short laugh then solved the problem by staying inside her and carefully carrying her to the bathroom and into the shower before pulling out.  
  
Stone had just put his dishes into the auto washer and turned it on when furious banging and crashing noises were heard from the upper level. "What the hell is going on up there?"   
  
Tytus gave the equivalent of a Turians snort before replying, " from the sounds of it, those two are up there fucking like varrens against a wall."  
  
He wondered over to the vid screen on the wall and grabbed the remote,  sat in the chair and turned it on,  raising the volume enough to drown out the sounds coming from the upper level.  
  
Shepard locked up Liara's office and Feron gave a snort when he noticed Tytus had found one of Garrus's stashes of brandy and Stone found one of Shepard's stashes of junk food while they had been upstairs.  
  
"We'll be back in a few hours." Both of the males grunted and continued to watch the sports game that was on the vid screen without paying much attention to her.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone for supporting this story. All of the comment and kudo's are greatly appreciated. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

 

The next morning Shepard ordered breakfast for all of them, opting for the place that served larger then normal portions. Both of the other males ate a lot, Feron and her worked up quite an appetite last night when she pulled Feron into the darkest, emptiest area of the theater and proceeded to show him another reason the retro style theaters were popular on Earth. He had no idea what the movie was about, his attention had been solely on Shepard and what she was doing with her hands, then how after she rolled a condom on him, she sat on his lap and proceeded to fuck him until he couldn't think at all. And again when they got back to the apartment finding both of the others passed out on the furniture,  she shut off the vid screen while he picked up the trash and sealed the bottle of brandy,  she then took him by the hand pulling him up the stairs,  stripping him and riding him long into the night.

It took her a while to actually fall asleep. When Feron was in the middle of one of his orgasms he had once more told her he loved her. She could only kiss him and try to bring him more pleasure. She wasn't sure if he even knew he had said it out loud or thought he only said it in his own mind.  
  


* * *

  
  
Shepard had the rest of her group head straight for the coordinates listed on the datapad for the lab,  they were to stay out of range and monitor communications and any traffic heading to the planet.  
  
In the meantime Shepard headed for the first Broker job on her list, a simple intel grab. Legion monitored her as she snuck her way through the base finding the office and hacking the terminal there. Once the OSD had all the intel the Broker needed she made her way back out. Legion told her someone noticed the compromise in their security so she needed to hurry. She ducked from crate to crate, hiding behind desks and other furniture until she reached the side door she had broken the lock on earlier and slipped out. She took off running after she waited until her cloaking program had recharged to full,  heading to the transport. Legion got her back on board the ship with no trouble. Feron was waiting to upload the data and Legion started them on the way to their next destination.  
  
She slipped into Feron's lap after she had removed her armor and put her customary sweats on. "This next one is another pick up. I won't have back up other then Legion this time so we have to be ready for anything." She snuggled into him putting her head on his shoulder and breathing in his scent,  so different then Thane's. Feron smelled of mangos and what Shepard swore was sun warmed sand. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.  
  
Feron leaned back in his chair and closed his own eyes. _What the hell is going on with Shepard? Instead of reports and weapon cleaning she is sitting here asleep in my lap. And oh God's the sex, I think I am even more addicted to her then I was before, the things she does to me. The things she lets me do to her,  she doesn't retain the rigid control,  she lets go more often now. Maybe I shouldn't dwell on this but enjoy it while it lasts._  
  


* * *

  
  
"We will be landing at the designated location in 20 minutes, Shepard. I have moved the transport to the location to guard the doors. Scanners will activate as we come in range of the coordinates." Legion told her as she was sitting at the table going over the reports sent from the other Spectres that had cleared their first destination. Same as the other places with one exception, Alenko's group found several datapads shoved in the back of a drawer, almost as it they were in to much of a hurry and didn't look carefully. They were sending the intel to Liara to decrypt and add to the datafile.  
  
The others in her own group reported no ships visible coming or going and no communications. They will keep her informed.  
  
"Feron, about this next pickup,  who is the agent I am to meet?" Feron blinked then said, "Agent by the name of Val 'tus,  Turian, barefaced. Ex Blue Suns, left their ranks after the war,  recruited as an agent for the Broker at that time. This is the third pick up assignment for him,  first two went smoothly.  Registered disagreement with second in command of his group,  person not of his choosing,  Batarian. Records show Batarian needlessly abusive, issues with him trying to enslave children left abandoned after war. The Turian took offense to it. Broker is going to be reassigning the Batarian after this pick up."  
  
"Hmm, alright, so from what it sounds like I get the feeling I won't be having trouble with the Turian but that Batarian has my neck hairs going up. It may be because of my issues with slavery though and past encounters with Batarians slavers and terrorists. Be ready for anything Legion." She looked at Feron, " I know I have never asked this,  but are you proficient with any type of weapon?"  
  
"Never really needed them in my line of work,  I have used a pistol but preferred to stay out of trouble if I could. Otherwise I usually just tried to talk my way out of trouble." She nodded at him, "alright,  monitor the cameras, please. Let me know if you see anything suspicious. I'm going back and suiting up." She got up and tossed her trash in the bin then walked past him,  brushing her hand along his shoulder and ribbing. He shivered before standing up and heading to the bridge.  
  


* * *

  
  
"Sending Broker's codes now, Shepard. Acknowledgement was sent back. Landing in 5." Legion sent the comm over the ships speakers. Feron said so far nothing out of the ordinary,  they were to retrieved 2 large crates, sealed and 3 small crates. There was also mention of a special package that was to be forwarded to the Broker,  Liara told them she wasn't sure what it was. They had made plans on leaving that package on the surface until Legion could verify it completely before bringing it on board.  
  
Legion scanned all 5 crates,  verified contents,  no tracking devices and the seals were all intact. Shepard used the codes given to her then tossed the datapad to the Turian,  who looked it over and backed away from the containers. Legion activated the mass effect generators attached to the sides of the crate to hover them off the ground while Shepard pushed them toward the cargo bay doors. One of the guards made the mistake of moving toward Shepard and a shot was fired from the small guns mounted on Legions' transport. Everyone froze. "That was a warning. Do not approach the ship or the Agent." Legion's voice broadcast over the area. They all took a step back from the cargo and waited. The Turian started to lay into the guard that had been so stupid, and told them to head back toward their ship.  
  
After the last crate was on board,  the Batarian stepped forward carrying a small device.  Once again Legion's voice came out, "approach no further."  
  
The Batarian snarled at Shepard,  who only crossed her arms and leaned back on one foot. He tossed the device and a datapad to Shepard then stepped back. The datapad had instructions on it with how to use the device after they were gone. It would activate a signal and they would go to the location for pick up of a container. Shepard snorted.   
  
She nodded at the Turian giving a hand signal of respect to him, who acknowledged it and sent one in return then headed straight for their ship. She then turned to the Batarian, "if you are screwing with me or the Broker, I'll be back to skin you alive." Shepard watched as the Batarian stomped back to his ship,  as soon as he had turned his back to her she had tossed the device away from her and the ship.  
  
Legion moved the transport down to the surface and Shepard jumped in then moved further away from the device. The cargo bay doors closed and Feron lifted off,  getting the ship away from the surface pretty quickly.

They waited to see if a signal was sent from the other ship, when none came as the ship left the planet's atmosphere she left out a shaky breath. "Legion what can you tell me from the scans of that device?"  
  
"It is a signal remote, just as the Batarian said. No incendiary devices on it nor are any nearby." Shepard got out and walked toward the device picking it back up.  
"Alright Legion I am going to activate it, are you sure that the crates were not tampered with?"  
  
"My scans showed no anomalies and the seals were all intact." Shepard chewed her lip and tapped the device against her leg. "Feron,  move the ship back behind the closest moon. Have the VI seal the cargo bay and activate all of the barrier generators. Once you get a breather on and an extra tank on let me know. Then seal the bridge in case it has to eject. I don't want to take any chances that they have a surprise in there that not even Legion could find."  
  
When Feron sent her the acknowledgement along with his shaky, "be careful." She pushed the button. Legion told her a signal came from the other side of the planet, she hopped aboard the transport and Legion took off heading for the signal at full speed while scanning around them.  
  
When they arrived at the destination they seen it was a cave,  Legion continued to scan and inched his way forward looking for any traps or other abnormalities. "I can detect nothing out of the ordinary at the cave opening,  heat scans shown nothing, the planet's own volcanic heat is interfering with it. Scans show there is a large opening 300 meters ahead and also a metal structure, large rectangular in shape,  similar to a cargo container."  
  
"Alright,  I'm going in,  be ready to get my ass out of trouble, Legion." Shepard jumped out of the transport,  her SMG in her hand and rifle snug in its holder on her back. She activated the cloak just in case and carefully made her way in. Working her way further into the cave her suit registered the increase in heat. "Fuck it's getting hot in here, I'm picking up the pace before my suit's circuits overheat." She started moving quicker,  following Legion's directions, until she reached her destination,  a large metal storage container sitting in the middle of the cave. She scanned it and found nothing out of the ordinary. The door had a security lock on it, "hacking the lock." She opened her omni tool and activated the app,  taking a few steps back as the program ran,  her weapon holding steady and pointed at the doors.  
  
The doors slid open,  her suit registered the air had been cooler then the surrounding temperatures. She carefully entered the container, noticed a form laying in the corner. When she approached it,  the form moved,  held out five fingered hands,  croaking for her to stay away. Shepard started to laugh.  
  
"Well, well, well. Now this is what I call a nice gift." Shepard's mask was still in place distorting her voice. "Are you two getting this?" At their acknowledgement,  Feron laughing told her that he had already notified the Broker. She was sending the Turian and the Batarian a bonus. "I also notified the Council."  
  
Shepard reached behind her removing a set of C-Sec cuffs and quickly snapped them onto the Asari, then hauled the ex-Councillor to her feet. "You are under arrest for failure to respond to the Council's orders to show for trial. For other things as well,  all of which you will be informed of when I present you to the Council." Then she dragged the crying Asari out of the container and to the transport.  
  
Shepard shoved the bawling Asari into another container and locked the door. Feron was in the kitchenette piling some of the food tubes into a small bag and grabbed several bottles of water. Shepard removed anything from the facilities that could be used as a weapon,  then escorted the Asari there so she could use the toilet. When Tevos tried to get her to take off the cuffs, Shepard laughed at her, told her she had 2 minutes and better get to it. When she took Tevos back to the makeshift cell Feron was waiting for her with the bag of food and 2 bottles of water.  
  
"Don't even think of trying to escape, or attacking Feron when he brings you food." Legion took that opportunity to level the main gun directly at Tevos and the container she was currently in, causing her to cry out and scramble back into the container. Feron placed the bag and bottles down then closed the door. He had rigged up a lighting system in there when Shepard was on the way from the planet's surface.  
  
"Head to the Citadel,  fastest route possible. Notify the others we have the one Councillor. As soon as we get her into their custody, we will be heading back out for one more pickup then to that lab."  
  


* * *

  
  
Councillor Sparatus met them in a special docking bay,  he had several Turian guards with him along with a contingent of Krogans which caused Tevos to burst out in tears again, trying to struggle against her bonds. Which only made the giant Krogan grin at her,  one of them had spent to much time around Grunt because Shepard heard the distinct , "heh,  heh,  heh," laugh of Grunt's coming from one of the younger Krogan in the back.  
  
"Keep me informed,  and if you need help interrogating her,  let me know." Shepard grinned evilly at the Asari while cracking her knuckles. After the guard dragged Tevos toward the armored transport the Councillor approached Shepard. "The trial is being held in the morning, I will notify you.  Spectres can attend via QEC aboard your vessels. No Salarian or Asari will be allowed near her and any food or liquids will be tested for poisons before giving them to her. She will stand trial. It will be a public broadcast, the room will be sealed."  
  
"You know as soon as the other races find out about the fact of the hidden beacon there will be an outcry for the removal of the Asari Council seat. Yours will become shaky due to you concealing the fact and not prosecuting her for years." The Turian gave a brief nod, "I know Shepard, I will deal with it,  right now I am hoping they see that the two remaining Councillors are all that is holding things together right now."  
  
They shook hands then Shepard headed for her ship as the Councillor headed to his private transport, following behind the heavily guarded prisoner transport.  
  


* * *

  
  
"Feron get us to Casbin,  we got one more pickup to do then we can get back to regular business." Shepard stretched and yawned, passing through the bridge and heading for her quarters. She stripped out of her clothing,  tossing on a tank and shorts then collapsing on the bunk. Feron came in a few minutes later seeing her sprawled in the middle of the bunk. He grinned and stripped from his leathers, crawled in behind her.  
  
The ship's VI woke them up letting them know they were an hour from their destination. Shepard stretched again,  amazed once more that since this relationship with Feron started,  just how much better she slept,  how much more relaxed even on her own ship she had become. She rolled over and saw him watching her, she grinned, "did you sleep well?" He gave her a slight nod, "would have slept better had I become exhausted with physical exertion before trying to sleep." She  cocked her eyebrow at him, "I'll keep that in mind. Come on, we have less then an hour." He grabbed her before she could roll away and pulled her into him for a kiss.  
  
Rolling over onto his back he ran his hands over her body, "why do you insist on wearing these when we are alone on board?" He slipped his hands under the waistband of her shorts,  palming her ass and giving it a squeeze. "Habit since basic training,  never get caught naked or with your pants down. We never knew when one of the instructors would call a drill and you had to be up and dressed within minutes. Not a good thing to be caught bare ass in that situation."  
  
"Hmpf,  I would rather you be bare ass when you are in bed with me." He gave her a cheeky grin raising his brow ridge at her,  while he squeezed her butt again. "You're such a damn rogue. Quit playing with my ass,  we have to get up and get a move on." He smirked when she gasped as he slid his fused fingers into her, "hmm,  seeing as how you are nice and wet, I think we need to do something else first. That guy isn't going anywhere." He slid his fingers in further, rotating them before pulling them back out.  
  
He watched as her eyes glazed over and a moan escaped her lips,  then rolled her over,  kneeled and yanked her shorts and underwear off of her in one quick motion before covering her body with his own.  
  


* * *

  
  
"Legion, give me a report on what your scans have picked up." Shepard was squeezing food from ration tubes in her mouth and dumping them in the trash as she stood against the counter.  
  
"Four heat signatures, 3 in the outer rooms,  one in the back room. Power sources located outside of facility. Likely rigged to bypass Geth technology that they could not activate." Shepard let out a snort as she picked up the smugness in Legion's voice. She stood there and thought it out. "Alright, land us a bit back from the target,  you and I will go in,  cut the power. That should lure one or two of the guards out, I'll take them out while you monitor communications. Then I'll go in get rid of the other guard,  grab that Salarian bastard then haul ass back to the ship." She ate a few more of the food rations then called out to Feron who was up in the bridge area, "when I get that bastard,  let Liara know. We'll need somewhere to lock him up until I can interrogate him and find out who set me up. I would rather not have him on this ship for longer then he has to be."  
  
"On it, Shep." Feron called over the comm. "The Councillor called, the trial will be in 4 hours. All he would say was,  and this didn't make much sense to me,  Tevos sang like a crow." Shepard cracked up laughing, the aliens were trying so hard to get the stranger idioms of humans down,  what came out was usually hilarious as hell.  
  


* * *

  
  
Shepard activated her cloak and eased her way toward what Legion told her was the control panel for the power generator. She carefully short circuited several of wires,  leaving emergency lights and the power to the door alone. Then hid behind a small boulder waiting for the guards to come out to investigate. When one of them came out she hesitated hoping one of the others would follow,  when it didn't look like they would,  she used a concussive round on the guard,  knocking him out. She hurried over to him and trussed him up in C-Sec cuffs,  then disabled his comm. "Getting anything over the comm's?"   
  
"Negative, Shepard. Just complaints about the power going out again. Updating your HUD with the locations of the remaining organics inside." Legion told her.  
  
She quickly and quietly moved into the building, keeping low,  she moved to the first room, the guard was furiously pushing the button trying to get the lights to come on, _'typical human behaviour'_ ,  Shepard laughed to herself. She went up behind him and put him into a sleeper hold that Thane showed her, she slapped cuffs on him as well as a gag. Reactivating her cloak and moving to the next location. The next one was going to be a bit tricky,  he was pretty close to the doorway leading into the back room where the Salarian signature was located.  
  
"Legion,  see if you can somehow get the emergency lights to flicker but not go out completely. I want to try and draw him away from the doorway." The lights started to flicker, a voice came from the backroom, giving rapid orders to find out what was going on and to fix it. The guard moved from the doorway,  calling out for the other one presumably,  when he made it past where Shepard was hiding,  she sprung out hitting him in the back of the head with the butt of her SMG,  catching him before he fell to the floor. She cuffed and gagged him,  pulling him from in front of the doorway. "Three down,  the Salarian to go. There is definitely one in the backroom. Feron,  gonna need your help to get these others loaded up for transport as well, I decided not to shoot them."  
  
Shepard activated her cloak, _just in case_ ,  she told herself. Then swiftly moved to the side of the doorway,  lowering herself down to near the floor before peeking around the corner. The room contained a bed,  a desk with a terminal set up,  currently running something with long strings of data flying down the screen and the Salarian fiddling with what looked like a mini generator that the terminal was plugged into. Shepard ducked back around the corner and whispered to Legion to start data mining that terminal, she wanted that data secured.  
  
She carefully moved into the room,  the Salarian still had his back to her,  she raised up slowly then jabbed the SMG into his back near where a Salarian's kidneys are. "Surprise, surprise. You done pissed off the Shadow Broker and me. Don't so much as twitch." Shepard reached into the compartment at her side and withdrew a set of cuffs,  slipping one on then stepping back to settle her weapon onto a spare holder on her leg armor before cuffing his other hand. "So, Doctor, what the fuck do you think you were trying to do? You should have know screwing with the Broker and with me would not end well for you."  
  
"You don't understand, Shepard. Had no choice. Had to call in that debt. Dalatrass Linron approves my families breeding contracts. I am the last member of my family still of breeding age. Our family would die out if I didn't do it. She threatened me with denying every request. My family is all I have. They kept after me. I didn't want to do it. Hallis was supposed to contact me when the job was done. Never heard from him. I heard it failed and you were alive. I came here. Thought I would be safe from retribution. Yours,  the Brokers and the Dalatrass's." The Salarian stopped to take a breath.   
  
"Hallis is dead. Killed an hour after that failed job, by someone intimate with STG practices."  
  
Legion told her he copied the databank on the terminal and ran traces on any outgoing or incoming data transfers. "Feron,  land the ship,  we have a fugitive to bring in. Along with 3 trespassers on a Sanctuary world, for the Council to deal with." The Salarian started to struggle when he realized he was going to be separated from the others. He was going to the Broker. Shepard hit him knocking him out.  
  


* * *

  
They had about an hour before the trial would begin,  Shepard hurriedly changed clothing, Feron brought her a bottle of water,  assuring her the locks on both the containers and their cuffs were secure. She settled into the pilot's seat and waited.  
  
The Councillors connected to everyone, and the trial proceeded. Sparatus went over all of the charges, then broadcast all the vids,  they went over all the documentation and finally the confession of Tevos on both being under orders to conceal the location and information contained on the Beacon and also her knowledge and compliance with helping the Dalatrass to try and reformulate the genophage.

She went as far as to acknowledge that the Salarian Councillors involvement had been there since right after the war when the Dalatrass had approached them both.

The Dalatrass promised Tevos help to conceal the knowledge of the beacon further, removing any evidence that the beacon even existed.

That with her help and the help of Valern that they could remove the Human and Turian Councillor and find replacements that would be willing to do what they were told if given enough incentive.  
  
"You are found guilty of treason, breaking the Council laws concerning the knowledge of known Beacons,  conspiring to bring harm to a council race ..." Sparatus kept adding the charges and Tevos's shoulders kept shaking, ".... punishment would normally be life imprisonment. Due to the severity of these charges,  your sentence is Death. We will show leniency in that your death will be quick and painless."  
  
"It is also the Council's recommendation upon hearing that the Asari governing body was fully aware of the breaking of Council laws,  ones they themselves put into place, shall have their Council seat revoked. Their Embassy will remain open for the next galactic year,  upon which time we will reconvene and the Council shall decide at that point to allow the Embassy to remain or to close it permanently." Sparatus entered data into his terminal. "These proceedings are now concluded."

The connection was cut.  
  


* * *

  
  
After dropping off the 3 to face imprisonment for disobeying Council orders concerning Casbin,  which is a lifetime offense,  they headed to the drop off location for goods picked up earlier. They would also be transferring the Salarian to other agents to take to the location secured by the Broker.  
  
Finally they notified the others they were headed to the lab base,  they would infiltrate, hope for more intel then make a short stop at small colony in the Terminus to restock food supplies. Then head to the next location.   
  
Legion informed them the data that was mined from the database belonging to the Salarian wasn't connected to the genophage in anyway. It was information concerning low level breeding contracts, and data transfers of his lineage along with incoming and outgoing contacts with an Asari that had posted an advertisement in a less then respectable online dating forum looking for a mate.  
  


* * *

  
  
The lab was like the others,  but this one seemed to have been used more recently,  they found food in the cooling unit that was still within use by dates, and plenty of power left on the fuel cells. They searched it over more carefully then any of the others,  finding a few documents linked to the medical company again.  
  
They rendezvoused at the small colony picking up a few rations for themselves and making sure the others were fully stocked,  they had a problem finding enough for the Turians but they assured her they could grab more from a different colony closer to their third stop,  they had enough for now. She paid for their rations, then they boarded and hauled ass to their next stop.  
  


* * *

  
"Shepard,  there are several heat signatures inside the structure on the small island. The terrain is not navigable by regular vehicles,  only hovercrafts. The area is unstable except for the solid areas where the buildings are located."  
  
"You have to be shitting me,  Legion." Shepard paced in the cargo bay.  
  
"I shit you not, Shepard."   
  
Shepard stumbled and looked at the transport. She let out a giggle then started to pace again. "Contact the other Spectres see if one of them has some type of hovercraft,  something ... anything,  that we can use."  
  
"Spectre Ta'van responded,  she has a Hammerhead, she sent notice that she can only take you along. Her pilot takes up the last seat."   
  
"Send her an acknowledgement. I will need you to monitor from here, keep my HUD updated. When they are ready open the cargo bay doors for the Hammerhead to come inside, we'll head down to the surface then."  
  
Shepard was back behind the safety stripe when the barriers activated and the cargo bay doors opened, she finished shoving more heatsinks in her armor compartments. Legion notified her that he had started to hack their mainframe, changing passcodes so they couldn't access to delete records. Shepard got into the transport and shut the door, the cargo bay doors opened back up and the Hammerhead sped toward the surface.  
  
The two of them were met by resistance, these guys were dug in deep, the pilot had to evacuate the area,  the shielding on the transport was original and incredibly flimsy. Shepard and the Asari took turns firing into the mercs guarding the doors,  finally they dispatched the last. Legion was busy data mining and changing passcodes every few seconds. The Asari ran and collected any fallen heatsinks while Shepard checked for credits and identification. They reloaded and Shepard hacked the door,  Ta'van went in first, her biotics flaring a barrier around her. They moved quickly to where Legion told her the data core was, taking out anyone they came across. Shepard knocked out 2 of the enemies that were wearing lab coats with low impact concussive rounds. Cuffing them and securing the databanks.   
  
"No other hostile's present." Legion's voice came over the comm.   
  
"Alright let's get to searching the base. This is going to take a while with just the two of us." They moved from room to room methodically,  searching everywhere, drawers,  even the ventilation ducts. Locked doors were quickly hacked and rooms beyond ransacked. They came back to the data room with several datapads, OSD's and a few identification chips. Legion told them the data had been copied,  and Shepard yanked out the data drives from the server. Piling them along with the everything else into a bag she found in one of the rooms.   
  
When the pilot opened the door to the Hammerhead Shepard slid the bag inside then shoved the Salarian and Asari scientists or whatever they were in afterward,  not caring that one of the horns on top of the Salarian's head made a sickening cracking sound when he slammed into the far wall,  she ignored the scream of pain that came from him and watched his body fall to the floor when he passed out. The Spectres got in and they returned to Shepard's ship. Notified the Council that Te'van would be returning to the Citadel with more evidence and 2 more criminals. Legion made copies of every datapad and OSD,  then the Hammerhead took off back to the Asari's ship and they sped toward the relay as soon as their cargo bay doors had closed.  
  


* * *

  
  
"While the Turians restock their food supplies we will head to the next stop. Spectre Nijlon meet me here on this moon." Shepard pointed to the smaller of the two moons, Budmi. "I went through old records on Saren when we were hunting him. There is a warehouse on the planet we are heading to, Juhxi,  used to be run by the Grim Skulls before Saren killed them all and the dockworkers from Camala. Now it seems the Dalatrass is using the warehouse for her own reasons. We will monitor and wait for the Turians to join up. I don't like going into such a large area with just the two of us."  
  
The other Spectre sent an acknowledgment and they headed toward the relay to take them to the moon. Shepard went in and took a sonic shower, wishing it was a nice hot bath but at least she was clean. Then dressed and headed for the mess area,  grabbing some food rations she sat at the table and went over the decrypted data pads and OSD's they got from the last place.  
  
Feron came in after taking his own shower dressed only in a set of sleep shorts, grabbed some ration packs and water bottles then sat down across from her. He opened the special terminal, contacting Liara for any new information. She told him the Salarian doctor was tucked away in a holding facility in the ass end of nowhere, as Shepard would say and she had credited Shepard's accounts with the payments for all of the completed jobs so far. She sent a request that when she was done with the current lab base that she takes time to do a recon mission at one of the systems nearby,  a mining colony. Their records seem to be off,  they aren't shipping out anywhere near the amount they are recording. She wants Shepard to find out why. They talked business a little longer then she switched to asking him about Shepard and how it was going with her,  if it was any better then the last time they talked.

  
*  
  
F: She is acting strangely. I don't know Liara, how she is acting when we are together is different then before. She is, more ... well let's say she initiates a lot of things now. But she has yet to tell me how she feels about me. I mean,  she seems to like the sex,  she doesn't shut me out as much. But is this just one of those, what do humans call it... friends with benefits things? Or does she feel more for me then just that?   
  
L: Maybe she is starting to feel more, it will take time Feron. Take what you can get,  keep at it, maybe some intimacy between you two. There is a difference, from what I have researched on humans, between acts of intimacy and just having sex. Being intimate is more relationship, shows feelings. Sex is anything from just blowing off steam to showing dominance over one another.  
  
F: I don't know where to even start. We are on a ship in the middle of assignments. There is nothing here. I can't just dump food ration tubes on the table and call it a dinner date.  
  
L: It may need to wait until you finish the last of those labs. Maybe I can swing something here on the ship to start you out with. Then there is Nos Astra and the Citadel. For Goddess sake,  don't go trying any of that useless mess you downloaded about dating habits. I still can't believe you even thought that stuff was going to help.  
  
F: I was desperate. And not all of it was useless. Some of those tips in that one I downloaded came in handy especially when I ...  
  
L: STOP! I don't want to hear about it.  
  
F: Oh alright. How is it going with that damn bug?  
  
L: He is helping me write that book. He does want to leave the ship for a bit,  was thinking of a short vacation for the two of us. Somewhere not heavily populated so he doesn't say,  "in my cycle ...", every few minutes.  
  
F: I asked Shep about her taking a vacation again after this is over,  she told the Council she will be taking an extended leave of absence. But with this mess she won't give me a positive answer. So maybe you can talk with her sometime. Tie it in with you going away for vacation,  and not wanting to leave the base unattended or something. Take that damn nightmare of a VI with you too. The last thing I want is to have that blasted ball popping up when I'm having sex with Shep somewhere in the ship.  
  
L: Oh Goddess, Feron. Please don't tell me you are planning on dragging her all over this ship just to have sex with her.  
  
F: I'm going to try to have sex with her in every room,  every hallway,  every out of the way place I can get us in to. I want her to become as addicted to me as I am to her.  
  
L: Stay out of my offices. That's an order. Now I have to get back to work. Let Shepard know I may have some information about that medical company but I still need to verify it yet. And let me know if she can do that recon. Take care of her.  
  
F: Alright,  let me know. I'll contact you as soon as I know if she is going to be able to do it. And don't worry,  I'll be taking care of her all night long,  over and over again.  
  
L: Feron! For the love of the Goddess, I don't want to hear about it!  
  
*Connection Terminated *


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your continued support of this story. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Comments and kudo's are always welcome.

* * *

 

 

The VI woke them up a few hours after they had finally fell asleep from sheer exhaustion telling them of an incoming message from the Salarian Spectre.   
  
"I'll be right there." Shepard croaked out,  coughing and setting up in bed,  grabbing her tank top from the corner where Feron had thrown it and vainly searching for her shorts, that were nowhere to be found, she opted to grab a set of sweat pants from the drawer. She stopped long enough to grab a bottle of water chugging most of it down on the way to the bridge. She was going to have to do something about needing such low humidity on board, it was starting to affect her throat.  
  
"Put the call through." She just opened her mouth on a jaw cracking yawn when the Salarian popped up on the screen.  
  
"Shepard? There seems to be something wrong with your fringe." He said rapidly. She blinked at him stupidly for a few seconds before it registered he was talking about her hair. "It's called bedhead. When we first wake up,  it's like this."  
  
"Interesting. Calling to let you know,  contacts on Sur'Kesh sent me an encrypted message. One of Valern's close contacts just hurriedly left from Talat. He failed to give a destination to the port. Which alerted the authorities. Who in turn alerted me. Have the shuttles identification pattern. Can leave now and be on intercept course in 2 hours. Can follow and report. But must leave now."  
  
"Alright,  go. Keep me posted. I'll contact the others let them know. If you need backup contact me or one of the closer teams to assist you. Remember we can't afford to lose any more Spectres."  
  
"Acknowledged." The Salarian stared at her hair a few more seconds, then cut the link.  
  
"Legion put me through to the Turian Spectres." She explained to them about the call she got from their team mate,  then answered their questions,  no her fringe isn't broken,  it just sticks up that way first thing in the morning, and no it didn't hurt. She told the Turians she will be waiting for their arrival the following day. To keep comm channels open in case she needed to contact them or if the Salarian requested help. She cut the link then stumbled back to her quarters,  Feron was sitting up in the bunk waiting for her. She gave a quick rundown before stripping off her sweats and dropping into the bunk,  practically asleep before her head hit the pillow.  
  


* * *

  
  
After a few more hours she woke up to the feeling of Feron's tongue licking his way down her body, "Feron,  what are you ...",  she let out an indecent moan when his tongue lapped over her clit, he moved to between her legs and draped them over his shoulders. He was gentle with how he moved along her folds, his fingers easing their way inside to stroke her slowly. His tongue making languid strokes and licks drawing out her pleasure, her gasps and groans become louder and more gutteral as he continued. When her orgasm washed over her,  she cried out and he quickly replaced his fingers with his tongue,  driving it deep inside her, tasting her release. He gently lowered her legs back down to the mattress and moved to the side of the bunk.  
  
"Good morning," he said to her,  brushing the sweat dampened hair from her face. She could feel his hard cock against the side of her leg and was confused about why he didn't continue to find his own release.  
  
"Morning." She stared at him a few more minutes then shifted on the bed. "I'll be right back." She got up scratched her head and looked down at him,  he made no move to cover himself,  his body bare, his cock fully erect and she watched as a tiny drop of precum dripped down from the slit then slide down the side as it hit the tiny ridge near the head.  
  
When she came back from using the facilities she found him not in their quarters but already dressed and out in the mess making coffee and piling several of the breakfast bars in the middle of the table. His terminal was once more there to the side but closed.  
  
When she sat at the table he brought over their drinks and sat down, as they ate he went over everything that Liara told him and asked if she thought there would be enough time to handle that recon. She thought about it then told him to hold off on telling Liara anything, mainly due to the possibility of needing to go after the Salarian or back to the Citadel in a hurry. He agreed then cleaned up the trash,  refilled their cups and pulled over the terminal. This time instead of looking for the dating habits of humans he was looking up favorite vacation spots and how humans like to spend their vacations.  
  
He grimaced at the vid that showed humans bundled up in outdoor gear racing down the side of the mountain on a white powdery substance. He really grimaced when he researched that substance to find out it was called snow and it only showed up with the temperatures were very cold. He scratched that type of vacation from his mind. Moved onto the next.  
  
Shepard didn't say anything just sat there across from him watching the expressions crossing his face,  apparently really not liking what he was seeing on his terminal. She got up and headed up to the bridge. Putting in calls to the other Spectres she asked for updates. Receiving reports back that a few of them had encountered resistance but made it out relatively unharmed with valuable intel that they were currently trying to decrypt. She updated them on the call she received and the intel that was found on her end.   
  


* * *

  
  
The day passed pretty much the same as the morning did,  working on reports, making calls and endless waiting. Feron was still typing away at his terminal, his eyes moving rapidly across the screen taking in every word. She was still wondering why he wasn't trying to get her into bed,  she shrugged. She was almost positive that he was up to something but didn't want to ruin whatever shenanigans he was planning.  
  
She received a call from the Turians they were in the system and would landing in a matter of hours. They would come on board and go over the plans for recon on the warehouse and then come up with a plan for attack.  
  


* * *

  
  
It took several hours but the plans were made, Shepard would go down during the night cycle and set up for recon, then in the hours when it was darkest the other two would join her and they would raid the warehouse,  hoping that everyone would either be tired from being up on duty all night or still half asleep from just waking up.  
  
After they returned to their own ships,  Feron and Shepard ate a meal their usual food ration tubes. Both of them letting out a sigh wishing for real food. They cleaned up and Shepard headed for the facilities while Feron set the system for any alerts. Shepard could get a few hours of sleep before needing to go down to the surface.   
  
When she entered her quarters Feron was already in bed, the covers drawn up to his waist and he was watching a vid. "I know you need to sleep,  I hope you don't mind me watching this,  I'll use the omni link to listen to it so it shouldn't disturb you." She shrugged,  turned out the lights then got into bed, when she rolled over to put her arm around him,  she got a good look at what he was watching. A porn vid,  human and drell. The woman was going down on the male drell who had his head thrown back and his hand had a hold of her hair. He was thrusting into her mouth,  with long slow thrusts, she saw the woman's throat expanding slightly as he pushed his way down deeper. She must have had some type of surgery for her to do that. Shepard closed her eyes then turned back the other way.   
  
She fell asleep with a frown on her face a few minutes later,  Feron shut off the vid and laid down,  hopefully she will dream of them doing that. He was so curious about it, what would it feel like to have her lips close around him,  that tongue of hers licking him like he did to her. He eased his way over closer to her,  gently turning her a bit so her back would be snug up against him, she sighed and wiggled. Her ass rubbed against his erection. He swallowed,  shifting to reach down and stroke himself,  then slid the head of his cock between her ass cheeks. She moaned in her sleep and he held still,  then started to stroke himself, she wiggled a bit and he stopped. He went back to stroking, his hand fisting tighter around himself as the felt the heat from her where the head of his cock had slipped down further between her legs,  several minutes later he let out a muffled grunt as he came, coating both his hand and her slit. Wiping his hand on the corner of the sheet, he slid his still hard cock back between her legs,  this time he slid inside of her a few inches and fell asleep, holding her tight against him.  
  


* * *

  
  
She awoke to Feron having a death grip on her, he was also deep inside her. Sometime during the night he had came all over her,  then entered her. She could tell from his breathing he was asleep, and he was fucking her.   
  
Drells don't dream in the same way humans do, Thane had once told her. Their dreams were replayed memories.   
  
Ferons pace picked up, his murmured, "Shep, Shep", was felt against her shoulder. He was going hard and deep now, she let out a low moan as he thrust in hard one last time, his soft grunt and sigh as he came again. She stroked his arm, he slowly relaxed his grip on her as his erection finally softened, when he slipped out of her she was able to move his arm enough to slide out of the bed. She quietly grabbed her clothes from the top of the dresser like piece of furniture and headed to the facilities to shower.   
  
She looked down at herself,  his ejaculate was everywhere. On her ass, between her thighs. Thane had done it a few times, usually when they hadn't had sex for a while, since his condition didn't always let him breathe freely enough for love making. During his sleep, his body would react, taking hers,  she would wake up with him moving in her slow and easy,  his breathing steady as it could be with his condition. It was those times when he could last far longer, he would ejaculate and keep going. She would move his hand slowly down her body, his fingers would take over and she would join him, over and over in a night. When his body would finally become sated he would calm.  
  
The first time it happened he apologized profusely, ashamed at his behaviour. She silenced him with a kiss and a request for him to do it as often as his body wanted,  she smiled at his astonishment then proceeded to stroke him which lead to a bit more strenuous version of lovemaking.  
  
She shook her head and sighed stepping into the shower and starting it going,  as it sent waves out over her body cleaning her she slid open the one door pulling out an object that looked like some type of sex toy. In a way it did remind her of a slim dildo,  and she had used it before in that way.  But this time it was for the purpose originally intended,  she hooked it up to the adapter then slowly inserted it into herself,  the pulsing wave cleaned her,  removing the last of the ejaculate from her. She turned off the shower, put the cleaning wand away then hit the cleaning and decon cycle for the unit.

 

* * *

  
Shepard chose the rooftop of the building a block away to recon from. It had a clear view of the main loading bays and the only door that had been guarded. There were still 2 hours to go before the other Spectres would join her, she kept watch on the door and the guards. So far no one had come or gone. A few lights had come on, then went off less then an hour later. Legion told her some of the areas were shielded from his scans. So far there were no outside communications , the chatter they did pick up was between the people inside and the guards outside.  
  
The other's joined her and she quickly told them what she had observed, which wasn't much. Legion gave his information in a flat tone, indicating the high probability  that one of the shielded areas would contain the data banks. This was going to be risky,  there were 3 of them and they weren't sure how many guards were inside, then there was the fact they would need to hurry to get to the data banks before they were wiped.  
  
"Alright, gentlemen,  we are as prepared as we can be. Let's do this." She waited as the Turians made their way down the side of the building and got into position, then she quickly took out both guards with concussion rounds before either one knew what was happening. The Turians cuffed then disconnected the guard's comm units,  pulling them behind a stack of crates as Shepard was moving to their location.  
  
The building was larger then they thought it would be,  nothing on the plans they had showed a level below ground. As they moved through it they realized almost the entire lower level was nothing more then reinforced holding cages, similar to the ones slavers used,  only these were made specifically for Krogans. Some of the cages were empty,  some had the corpses of Krogans in them. A few held ones that were alive. There was nothing she could do for the dead ones,  but she broke the locks on the others,  told them who she was and did the best she could for them. She was saddened to see at least one of the corpses was a female. The Turians scavenged what food and water they could find,  distributing it among the survivors. Shepard was doing her best to give medical care,  until one of the females pointed out their own wounds should also be tended to. Shepard called the local authorities and told them what happened requesting medical services immediately,  along with food and water to be brought.  
  
One of the Turians had taken a shot to the upper arm and Shepard was patching a wound on her side. Legion was copying what was left of the databases. Feron came running through the building shouting for her. She waved him in when one of the local police stopped him. "Shep, Legion woke me, he said you were shot. What happened? How bad is it? What the hell is going on here?" He asked as he noticed the amount of medical personnel and Krogan that were there.  
  
"This was one of the main labs,  we finally found another one. Legion is running his decryption software on the databanks. We won't know more until then. I need for you to bring me that terminal of yours I need to contact the Krogan Ambassador and Wrex. These people will need specialized care, more then what the locals can give to them. Also grab the rest of the spare crates of food packs and water,  make sure we have enough stocked for 3 days then bring in the rest. They need it." She leaned into him, "Protocol is children,  females,  then older males finally the young males. Distribution of food and water must go in that order."   
  
The Ambassador thanked her and the Turians for finding some of his people, and let them know a medical transport had been dispatched,  it would arrive in two days. Wrex was livid about losing some of the remaining females, then calmed down when she told him they had saved several others, including four female children. They would all need extensive medical care but the humans here were doing their best to help them until the transport arrived to take them back to Tuchanka.  
  
The locals put all the Spectres up in the nicest hotel they had for the couple of days it would take for the Krogans to come and get their people. By then the local authorities will have questioned all of them and their assailants that was left alive. Shepard warned the locals to gently question the females, if they needed help with the males to let her know,  although with what she could tell the males knew who she was and was willing to cooperate since she had saved the children and many of the females. They would not go against such a well known Battlemaster.  
  


* * *

  
  
Over the next two days Legion was able to complete the decryption of the databank. They finally had the link to the Medical corp they needed.  
  
They found the location of the small settlement on Tuchanka where the Krogan had come from. They all told the same story, several Salarians had come to the clan's settlement told them they were there to check to make sure the genophage cure had worked, including the new generation that had been born. They needed volunteers from every age group,  both male and female to be tested.  
  
The ones that had volunteered were taken to what they thought was a medical facility, then they woke up in cages. They had found a way to override all of the Krogans redundant systems making them vulnerable.  
  
Shepard sent a warning to Wrex, telling him how they had got to the Krogan,  he was sending out runners and guards to all the settlements as they were speaking with the information. They would be getting no more Krogan from Tuchanka.  
  


* * *

  
  
Liara contacted Feron, she verified the ownership of that same medical company. It had been buried deep,  but the company was owned by a shell company registered to both Linron and Valern. Everything was now connected. The medical company,  Valern's involvement with Linron. All connected and pointed at them wanting the genophage. Now they had to find Valern and the Dalatrass.   
  
She sent in a QEC call to Nijlon's ship. His pilot answered the call,  telling her they were still tracking the shuttle,  it had landed but no one got on board or got off,  no communications went out either before it took off. The Spectre was suspicious. He had contacted a few other people on Sur'Kesh,  they all told him they seen the suspect get onboard that shuttle and leave. They couldn't tell if the shuttle was flying to specific locations to get more directions or as the humans would say was on a wild fowl chase. Shepard struggled to keep a straight face.  
  
"Acknowledged,  keep me informed please. Shepard out." Once the call disconnected she started laughing,  Feron looked up at her from where he was standing in the mess then shook his head and went back to his terminal.  
  


* * *

  
  
They told the Turians they had to restock their rations and had a side job to do on the way to their last lab. The other groups had already sent all their intel, and Liara was collating it for them,  digging for any more links,  anything that could show where Linron was hiding. Shepard grimaced when Feron had given her the options available for restocking. Omega or the small space station the Alliance had built in the Terminus system,  supposedly for supporting the human colonies there. She chose a quick trip to Omega.  
  
After her obligatory visit with Aria,  she made her way down to the market district and put in a purchase order with Marsh. He watched her root though the stack of magazines and pick up a copy of Fornax,  which had the Batarian blinking at her since she never did that before.  Then he shrugged.  Didn't matter to him what Shepard bought,  her credits were always good. He told her the order will be sent to her ship in a few hours. "See ya later, Marsh."  
  
When she boarded the ship,  Feron was sitting at the mess hall table once more on his terminal going over the data from Liara when she dropped the magazine on top of keyboard. "Here,  instead of playing one of those vids, you can read that. Legion can purge a few more of those vids and get back the data space he wants."  
  
Shepard kept walking back to the cargo area of the ship,  not seeing the confused look on his face at the porn magazine laying in front of him. Did she think he wanted to watch porn just to watch it? That she wasn't enough? All he was doing was trying to hint at maybe trying those things. Could that be why she hasn't wanted to have sex since then?  
  
"Legion,  purge all the porn from the databanks,  I think I really screwed up when I downloaded those." He picked up the magazine and tossed it into the trash. He had some explaining to do it seemed,  and was not looking forward to it.  
  
Shepard was sitting at the small workbench,  her sniper rifle disassembled in front of her, the smell of solvents and oil thick in the air. "Shepard? I think I have some explaining and apologizing to do. Do you think you can stop cleaning that for a few minutes?" He watch her pause,  clearly thinking about it before setting the piece she had in her hand down, and grabbing a hand cleaner cloth from the container.  
  
"I'm listening. What is is you want to say?" Shepard was furiously wiping her hands leaving smears of oil,  grease and residue on the cloth.  
  
He cleared his throat and nervously wiped his hands on his pants. "About the porn I have been watching. It wasn't because I wasn't interested in being with you. I was trying ... trying," he rubbed the back of his head. "I was hoping that it would,  you know,  give you the hint that I wanted ... wanted ... you to do that... thing." He cleared his throat again,  his frills flushed dark blue,  there was a high pitched trill coming from him that he was trying his hardest to control but wasn't having much luck.  
  
"What the hell are you talking about, Feron. What thing?" Shepard had a frown on her face and her arms were crossed.  
  
A high pitched whine floated through the air before he could control it."That ... thing,  the thing, that the female was doing. With her mouth. On that male. He seemed to enjoy it." He wrung his hands when he seen her raise an eyebrow at him.  
  
"Are you trying to say you want me to give you a blowjob? Feron, you never had one of those before? Not from a Human or Asari lover? All that was to get me to suck you off?" Feron flushed even deeper blue.  
  
"You're the only human I have been with. The Asari ... were more interested in just mind melding. They were not to fond of any form of penetration,  found it unnecessary,  unsanitary,  when they could just use their minds to get you and themselves off or reproduce. Drells, our hyoid bones,  our throats are able to expand to keep from being strangled,  but have to chew our food really well to be swallowed. Our females wouldn't be able to do that. You seen the teeth those Turians have,  I'm not that crazy to let one of them anywhere near my dick with teeth like that. That blowjob... seems to be a human ... thing."  
  
She stared at him,  and it was making him even more nervous,  he started to back out of the cargo hold. "Nevermind." He started to turn to rush out, calling himself all kinds of names for being so stupid.  
  
"Let me think about it some, Feron. It is not something I am usually willing to do." Shepard turned back to her workstation and sat back down.  
  
He stared at her as he stumbled backward banging his shoulder into the doorway.  _She didn't say no,  that was a maybe. She said maybe. God's, please let it become a yes._  
  


* * *

  
"Legion set course for the mining colony that Liara wants investigated." She said over the comm the minute after Marsh's workers delivered the supplies and left again. She had started to stock the mess, replenishing the water in the cooler while Feron carried the crate of rations placing it on the table. He stocked the dispensers and added several extras to the shelves. Refilled the sugar crystals and powdered creamer. As he did so he kept glancing at Shepard, she felt it each time he did it.   
  
When he came up behind her to pull down the coffee canister he deliberately ground his erection into her,  his hand going to her waist. "Feron,  now what the hell are you up to?" Shepard sighed as he dropped the canister on the counter and leaned into her, kissing her neck.  Moving his hand up under her shirt and palming her breast.  
  
"It's been days,  Shep. All this can wait. Let me take you to bed." He kept kissing her neck, his hand undid the closure of her bra, her breast in his palm, fingers rolling and pinching her nipple. At her groan he turned her around picked her up and carried her to their quarters.  
  


* * *

  
  
When they arrived at the mining colony all of it looked like it was operating normally,  several of the people looked at her with fright in her eyes so she knew something was wrong. She activated her comm link and whispered what was going on,  Legion started to monitor and Feron was talking to her over the comm. Giving her information on who to see and the protocols the mine was to run on.  
  
"I am here to see Mr. Carls, I am an agent for the business that owns this mine." Shepard was glancing at her omni tool,  the information on the mine was scrolling quickly.  
  
"I'm sorry miss, but there is no Mr. Carls here." The receptionist at the desk nervously told her. Shepard narrowed her eyes at the woman.  
  
"It's Mrs. Krios, and the board of directors have not authorized a change in management." She activated several of the hacking apps. "Who is it that claims to be in charge here?"  
  
"That would be Mr. Joshuan." Shepard made a note into her omni tool, Feron told her that he never heard of the guy,  and was not supposed to be there. He asked her to find out when this bastard showed up.  
  
"And when did Mr. Joshuan, assume control of this operation." Shepard seen the woman pale even further and start to shake." Six months ago, Mr Carls disappeared about a week after Joshuan showed up,  we tried to get in contact with the company,  but he blocked all the communications. People have been found dead, we need help." The woman quickly whispered all this to her barely moving her lips. Shepard barely nodded her head. " A few months ago, Mrs. Krios."  
  
"I see, I will contact our head office. This may be a communication error between the offices. Goodbye, miss." Shepard calmly turned around and headed back to the transport,  presumably to go back to her ship and leave.  
  
"Did you get anything from their databanks?" Shepard asked as she hurriedly flung off the business attire she had disguised herself in, she removed the colored lenses from her eyes and her hair color went back to its natural coloring as she zipped up her underarmor. She listened to Feron's run down on what was found as she strapped on her armor and weapons.  
  
"Alright, Legion where is this douchbag's office at?" Shepard asked as she put on her helmet.  
  
"There is no Douchbag listed as personnel, Shepard. I thought you were going to inquire about Mr Joshuan."  
  
"Douchbag is... you know what,  forget it. Where is Joshuan's office?" Shepard asked. Her HUD lit up and a red dot appeared in the upper right corner. "What is the mech count for this mine? Any armed?"  
  
Legion gave her the totals that were assigned to the mine area. She realized this person may have brought his own as well. She grabbed up grenades that Tali sent that will send out a blast neutralizing mechs for a short period of time.   
  
"And away I go." Shepard said to herself as she activated her cloak and went out the small vent opening on the transport. Once she was clear, she sealed the vent and Legion took off to head back toward the ship.   
  
Shepard played the waiting game moving near the entry door and waited for someone to pass through,  she followed right behind them. Then quickly made her way to the hall that lead to back office area. She noticed one door guarded by 2 heavily armed mechs. That had to be where she needed to go. Taking one of the grenades from the compartment,  she lobbed it up in a rather impressive arc that didn't quite touch the ceiling. The mechs activated at the movement above them and raised their optics to view the object when the grenade activated. A brilliant flash of white,  then Shepard took off down the hallway,  her cloak no longer concealing her. Legion had the door ready to open by the time she made it and slid right on through with her gun drawn.  
  
The shot fired at her was aimed at where she would have been had she not did what she had. Instead she raised up and fired. Hitting this Mr Joshuan in the upper left shoulder. Then again in the right. Both of his arms hung down,  useless since both of the nerves were literally shot. The man was screaming for help,  but no one was bothering to come.  Legion told her they were all running in the opposite direction into rooms and locking them behind them.  
  
"So you're Mr Joshuan, I have someone on the comm who wants to talk with you." Shepard activated the holo projector and the hologram that Liara and Feron had designed to represent the Shadow Broker appeared. Liara's digitized and distorted voice came over the line.  
  
Shepard had a wicked grin on her face as the man in front of her started to blubber out his tale. He knew this was part of one of the Broker's shell company businesses,  he pretended to be one of the Broker's agents to gain access then killed the manager and anyone that questioned him. He quickly started to plead for his life, that he was sorry. "Oh you are going to be even more sorry,  very shortly." The distorted voice said before cutting off.  
  
Shepard dragged the man out of the chair, glancing down where he had pissed his pants and grimacing. She cuffed his hands then applied medigel to the wounds. She let it slip that the Broker would want him as undamaged as possible,  for now. Then literally dragged him down the hallway and out to the airlock where Legion was waiting for her. She got a glance at the people emerging from their hiding spots. A holo screen came up with another holo of a person who announced a new manager would be arriving in a few days. They would need to have a full report ready of what happened. Until then operations were suspended.  
  


* * *

  
  
Shepard met with another set of agents a few hours later and transferred Joshuan over to them. Complaining the whole time of how she had to scrub out her transport and the holding container because that bastard kept pissing himself.  
  
Feron set course for the last lab while Shepard cleaned, disinfected and deodorized the inside of Legion's transport. He was not happy in the least and refused to talk to her until she had cleaned up the mess that was made. Feron helped her with the container. He added covered vent openings along the ceiling of the container since it seemed that it was being used as a prison cell. So now it had light, ventilation and a locking door.


	16. Chapter 16

* * *

 

 

Legion ran a scan,  no heat signatures,  no power sources. It looked like this one has been abandoned the longest. The three Spectres headed into the buildings constantly scanning for traps. There was nothing. No furniture,  no terminals, nothing was here.  
  
"I hate to ask this,  but are you positive this was the location on the list? This place is completely empty." Shepard asked Legion. His terse affirmative answer came back. He was still mad at her.  
  
They continued to search looking for hidden rooms, discarded data pads,  anything. After 3 hours they found nothing. They made a report and headed back to their ships.  
  


* * *

  
  
There was a message waiting for her from Ta'van, the Council had the evidence and the 2 criminals were in C-Sec custody,  they had been more then willing to give testimony on what they had been doing in exchange for leniency on their sentences. She also informed Shepard that the sentence given Tevos had been carried out. The Asari matriarchs that were not part of the past government,  voted no confidence in the leaders,  they were forcibly removed. They sent notice they did not want Tevos's body returned to Thessia. Instead a transport will arrive to pick up her remains and take them to a small colony to be cremated,  then her ashes will be interred in an unmarked section of their burial vault.  
  
Shepard let her know that they were all headed back to the Citadel. They need to confer together and go over all the intel they had, present it to the Council, see what they wanted to do.   
  
Nijlon had finally contacted her, he was trailing the shuttle, still. It had docked and they monitored communications,  the contact had left the shuttle and Nijlon's pilot trailed him,  he dropped a package off to a courier then went back to the shuttle. The package was quickly intercepted,  it was full of credits and various datapads with locations on them. They had made a copy of all of them then added a tracer inside the package before sealing it back up, then sending it back on it's way.  
  
Authorities had already been notified at each of the port locations about a possible Salarian fugitive,  they gave a description along with the file of all the names that were listed on the documents. If any of them should be used it will flag in the system and Valern will be arrested and held for pick up.  
  
Shepard felt like they were closing in on finally finishing up this mess. She was feeling exhausted,  not just physically but mentally. The more she thought about it the more a vacation sounded good to her. She wanted to go to Earth though,  and wasn't sure how to go about breaking the news to Feron,  he seemed to want to spend it on the Broker's ship. Maybe he would be willing to spend a few days on Earth then head to the ship. She would have to ask him after all this mess is done. If he didn't want to go, so be it,  he could go to the ship and she would go to Earth. She felt a twinge in her heart when that thought entered her mind,  she pushed it to the side to think about later. She still had more to do before a vacation could be taken.  
  


* * *

  
  
The Council convened heard all the evidence, it was a long and grueling week,  but it had to all be laid out and gone over. Finally with all the evidence pointing to a joint collaboration between the two Salarians,  right down to using medical company equipment and personnel belonging to both of them,  they had no choice but to add additional charges to Valern. Since this seemed to be something between the two of them and not with the species' entire government supporting it,  they agreed to allow the Salarians to retain their Council seat,  for now. Should it be proven that they had help on a government level it will change.

A temporary Council member was added for the Salarians by the name of Esheel,  another Dalatrass. Wonderful.  
  


* * *

  
  
Shepard opened the door to the apartment and headed to the kitchen to get some water. She noticed Feron had finally got around to hanging up the glass underwater seascape that he had bought for her. He chose the location above where she had a small shrine to Thane hidden by several large house plants. It was a private area, not one to be pawed over by guests. She had set the area up to be overlooked and for the most part it was. Only her close friends and Kolyat knew it was there, her memorial to her husband. She noticed Feron had dusted the plants, and also took care of the shrine when she was gone for the day. Normally it was Kolyat that would do so.   
  
She would enclose it in the handmade box she had a crafter design for her when she would be gone for an extended time. She had reopened it the moment she returned. Filling the bowl of salt water and adding sand to the other one.  
  
She lit an incense stick,  and said a prayer then told him about everything that was happening. She knelt there for a bit longer,  whispering her apologies for being attracted to Feron and acting on it. She hope he could forgive her for starting to live again,  and would still be waiting for her when she arrived on Kalahira's shores.  
  


* * *

  
  
Shepard's omni tool went off waking her from a deep sleep. "Caller identify."  
  
"Tytus. Accept the damn call Shepard, we gotta go."  
  
"Accept call. What the fuck are you going on about Tytus?" Shepard croaked out.  
  
"Get the hell outta bed, we got a lead on Valern."  
  
"Shit,  a'right. Feron let go of me, damn it. I gotta get up." Shepard grumbled.  
  
"Fuck no, you're bare ass naked,  you aren't moving until you hang up with that damn Turian." Feron grumbled yanking the sheet higher on Shepard,  tightening the grip he had on her waist pinning her in place where she was still sprawled on him.  
  
"Hey Shepard,  nice bedhead you got going there." Stone grinned at her. She shifted her other hand out from where it was laying under the pillow beside Feron's head and showed him her middle finger which caused him to bust out laughing.  
  
"I'll be at the docks in 15 minutes. Send the details to my ship. Shepard out."  
  


* * *

  
  
Feron had just closed up the shrine's case when Shepard came running down the stairs and jumped the last 4. She nodded her thanks then they ran out the door, using her Spectre authority to push the skycab into the emergency lane and using the highest speed the vehicle was capable of to get them to the docks.  
  
"About fucking time you two got here, what did you do have another fuck before you left?" Tytus yelled at them his flanging voice echoing across the docks.  
  
"Shut the hell up, you're fucking lucky I'm in a good mood,  you oversize plated bastard." Shepard yelled back,  her large thermos carried in one hand. "Now haul your ass I'm tired of standing here with my thumb up my ass while you crack jokes." She heard the Turian laughing as they each ran for their own docking bays and readied for departure clearance.  
  


* * *

  
  
Shepard let out another jaw cracking yawn,  as they sped their way toward the relay. "Shit,  how much time till we reach Zorya?"   
  
"5 hours, Shep. We can grab a quick nap on the way,  once we get through the relay." Feron told her,  watching her yawn again and rub at her eyes.  
  
"I'm so damn tired. I'm heading back to sleep. VI, set security measures after relay jump, end sleep cycle time 4 hours from now." She heard the acknowledgement as she walked back to the cabin,  barely stripping more then her shoes off before falling asleep again.  
  


* * *

  
  
"God,  I hate this damn planet. If it isn't all the fricken pollen in the air it's the damn Blue Suns. Why in the hell would he come here? You would think he would go somewhere where the Eclipse would be running the show. They are mainly Salarian or Asari, ugh this just sucks." Shepard complained the whole time,  trying to brush the pollen off of her armor.  
  
"Bloody hell,  is that you Shepard? What the hell you doing back on Zorya?",  came a different voice over their comms that no one was expecting,  Tytus tensed up and Stone raised his weapon.  
  
"Fucking hell,  is that you Massani,  what the fuck do you think you're doing tapping into my comm?" Shepard yelled into the comm while still brushing at the pollen looking unconcerned that someone hacked their system.  
  
"You're using the same fucking comm line codes you did all those goddamned years ago, wasn't fucking hard to do." The grizzly voice of the bounty hunter came over the line.  
  
"You still running the Blue Suns? I need intel." Shepard asked him, finally getting the worst of the pollen off her visor.  
  
"Whatcha need that would bring you to this shithole?" Massani asked back,  sounding a bit tense,  he knew that if she was here it usually would mean trouble.  
  
"You heard about the trouble from the Citadel, and the warrants of arrest for certain officials that used to be in charge there?"  
  
"Shit." There was a long pause, "one's dead. The other one is here,  I take it?"  
  
"Yeah, don't want trouble with your boys, just want the bastard that has his name on the warrant. That bastard and another one is behind those Krogan deaths,  some of them were kids, Zaeed."  
  
"Goddamn bloody bastard." Shepard heard the venom spewing from the old merc. He may have been a hard as steel bounty hunter but Shep was one of the few that knew he had a soft spot for kids,  no matter the species. "There was an unknown shuttle that landed outside of Thun. Was here maybe 10 minutes,  then left again. The quick scans showed no sign of heavy weaponry so we let it go."  
  
"How long ago? And did your boys see which way the Salarian went?" Shepard waited for an answer. It came a minute later, "dropoff was early this morning,  they headed north of Thun in a small vehicle. There is an old refinery that isn't used anymore out that way. Bloody thing looked to be ready to collapse if some unlucky bastard sneezed from all this goddamn pollen."  
  
"Thanks for the intel, Zaeed,  I owe you a case of the cheapest shit that is supposed to be beer I can find." Shepard said with a chuckle.  
  
"Woman,  you better send me a couple bottles of the good stuff you keep locked up behind your bar in that fancy ass pad you have on the Citadel. Then again, now that I don't have to worry about that husband of yours pulling my spine outta my ass just by looking at you,  maybe we can come up with a better payment?"  
  
"Like hell,  she will. That's my woman you're talking to bounty hunter. I may not be Thane, but I damn well know people that can flay you alive with their minds, you try any of that shit with Shep and it will be the last thing your wrinkled old ass will do." Feron cut in across the comm.  
  
"Bloody hell."  
  
Shepard just started laughing as they all climbed back into Legion's transport and headed towards Thun.

 

* * *

  
Shepard was currently laying on a boulder that was covered with some of the larger flora leaves, using the scope of her rifle to try and see what was going on around the old refinery. There was definitely activity there, guards outside the door,  both looking nervously around the area. Whether from inexperience or because they knew this planet was run by the Blue Suns and were not the most welcoming of hosts,  she wasn't sure. Until one jumped as a bird flew out of overgrowth and almost shot the other guard in the foot. Inexperienced.  
  
"We got 2 guards,  skittish, definitely not STG,  out front of the building. Legion anything on the inside? Active mech? Databases? Anything?"  
  
"Nothing is registering, Shepard."  
  
"Alright, I'll take out the guards once you two are in place. Let's do this as quickly as possible. It's going to take forever to get this damn pollen out of the crevices of my armor."  
  
Shepard lined up her shots,  and took out both in quick succession. They dropped in their tracks with not even a sound issuing from them. Stone and Tytus stood on either side of the door and Shepard kicked it in, then scrambled for cover as the others came in shooting at the ones who were trying to shoot at Shepard.  
  
It took less then 5 minutes for all of the Salarians inside to either be shot and killed or drop their weapons and surrender. At first they didn't see Valern,  then she remembered he had a cloaking device almost as good as hers. "Legion the bastard is cloaked. Find him,  short it out." A loud popping sound came from behind a large stack of crates piled to the side.  
  
"Don't shoot,  Shepard." Came the quavering voice of the ex-Councillor. Shepard hauled him out from behind the crates and slapped cuffs on him while reciting the numerous charges. She could feel him shaking. She had no sympathy for him, he did it to himself. She shoved him toward Tytus.  
  
"You better take this one, I won't have him on my ship." She spat at Valern and walked off, Stone cuffed the rest of them and Shepard called Massani, letting him know if he wanted the bounty on Valern and those helping him, she would forward it to him,  all he needed to do was to scrape up the survivors. They were packaged and ready to go. He sent an acknowledgement. This time without a wise ass remark. He knew about the promise that was broken and what it had meant to Shepard and her stepson.  
  
The group headed back to the Citadel with their prisoner in tow. They were once again met by the Turian Councillor and guard contingent. Shepard had them forward the bounty to an account Massani had set up along with a case of Earth's Scottish Single Malt Whiskey as a personal thank you.  
  
Shepard had the hairs on the back of her neck raise up as she stood there talking to the Turian Councillor, and she quickly shoved him toward his transport. The Krogan that was with them reacted to her,  seeing how she was looking around and got the prisoner on board and they sped away. Tytus and Stone had their weapons drawn, one on either side of her.The hairs were still up when her eyes past a shadowy corner of the docks then flicked back. _There._  
  
"You're good. But not as good as my husband was. Come on out." Shepard didn't take her eyes from the darkened corner. She heard a slight chuckle then a Drell stepped from the shadows.  
  
"Commander, it is finally good to meet you. It is an honor to meet the woman who won the heart of our most accomplished assassin." The gold Drell came forward,  his manner nonthreatening,  she didn't drop her guard. She knew well enough how fast their kind were. "There is no contract on you,  nor will there ever be one accepted by any of us. Peace." He came to stand before her and gave her a deep bow.  
  
"I was sent by the Primacy. When they had received the inquires about the support for funding and finding the cure for Kepral's it had come as a surprise to them. When they received a copy of the recording from Sere Krios's sons' omni tool, verifying that indeed aid had been promised and was then diverted,  they became ... concerned. As did the Drell as a whole. We know that all of us owe our survival during the war to you and your actions to keep the automated defenses working." He took a step closer,  his eyes moving over her face and body. "We also were, disheartened, to find it was the same Salarian that had lived while your husband sacrificed the last of his breath to protect, that was behind this. He had, inadvertently I'm sure,  became a sign of hope to many in the same ... profession,  that we too could find someone to make us whole." One more step closer, the light caught his eyes and his burnished gold colored iris's were visible for the briefest second. His red ribbing expanded a little and she heard the hum of interest,  smelled the scent of leather and cinnamon.  
  
"I am taken." She said quietly.   
  
"My apologies." The Drell whispered and took a step back. "The Primacy wishes to have someone present to ensure that there are no issues with the proceedings. Any issues concerning the aid promised will be handled by the Primacy's legal team. I am here to assure no other issues arise,  or take care of any that does." He gave a slight grin, "I couldn't seem to stop myself from seeing you in person. Not just the tales told or news broadcasts. I am not unimpressed, you are truly one of our people's Siha. I can see what brought Sere Krios out of his long sleep. One day I hope the same can be said for me."  
  
"Do not close your heart to the possibility, if you find him or her, do not turn your back on it. No matter what the Compact would have you do. You're asleep,  your soul is alive and waiting,  don't let service to them destroy it." She whispered to him as she paused beside him. She seen him close his eyes,  breathe in her scent,  then give the briefest of nods before continuing on her way closely followed by Tytus and Stone. The two of them turned to make sure the Drell wasn't following them but he was gone,  Shepard hadn't even paused but had kept walking.  
  


* * *

  
  
Valern's trial was long and convoluted. With the charges of diverting funds and manpower to an illegal activity being the highest order,  found guilty he was sentenced to serve the rest of his remaining natural life in a cryo prison. Then came the charges for aiding and abetting, also found guilty, more time was added to his term of imprisonment,  which meant he would be spend time being frozen in a tiny silver cylinder. His belongings,  including companies and real estate holdings,  were to be sold,  all proceeds would be immediately transferred to a specified research team who volunteered to go to Kahje. Valern stood shaking in front of the Council,  watching as all the credits that he had built up over his life was being transferred, his reputation gone. In a blink of an eye he snapped, lunging for the pistol in his guards holster, he yanked it out pointing it toward Shepard. "This is all your fault!"  He screamed at her.  
  
A bright green spray of blood hit the guard and the hologram panel in front of the Salarian as he crumpled lifeless to the floor. In the ensuing panic,  Shepard yelled at everyone to calm the fuck down, her voice echoing over the entire room with the help of Legion connecting her comm to the speaker system.  
  
"Get on with it Councillors, no one else is in danger. Just finish this up and take out this garbage." Shepard looked down at the dead body, a satisfied grimace on her face. The proceedings quickly finished and Shepard glanced up into the rafters, artificial sunlight reflected off of gold scales before disappearing.  
  


* * *

  
  
That night in her apartment,  her team of Spectres along with Tytus, Stone, Alenko and Cortez all gathered. They were discussing what had happened during the trial when the apartment's chime sounded and Feron went to answer the door. He brought back a long thin box with an envelope addressed to Shepard.  
  
She opened the box to see a perfect red rose tied with a red bow,  nestled in a spray of brilliant green leaves. Feron's brow ridges drew down into a frown as he watched her "ohh" and "ahh" over it. He handed her the sealed envelope that had been delivered with it.  
  
 _"Siha,_  
  
 _This Earth rose,  pales next to your beauty. My eyes are open as is my heart._  
 _If you tire of the rainbow one, please keep me in mind."_  
  
The card was unsigned,  Shepard gave a lopsided grin then stood up to put the rose in a small vase,  humming as she walked past Feron as she was going to the kitchen. She heard Feron in the other room.  
  
"What the hell does that mean? Who the hell is sending you flowers? What the hell is going on? Damn it someone better answer me."   
  
He growled and frowned as he watched Shepard carry the rose back out and place it on the mantle along with the card, then step back taking a holo of it.   
  
He was still grumbling and trying to get her to tell him who sent it as he watched her fuss with it. Tytus covered his mouth,  putting everything he had into concealing his subharmonics. Stone had no such qualms as his laughter was echoing off the apartments walls.  
  
A little while later,  Feron was still glowering at the flower, and Shepard went to the door along with Stone to get the pizza and drinks that were ordered for everyone.  
  
Everyone was just sitting on the floor or wherever there was space, "we still haven't found any intel on where the Dalatrass is. Wrex has reported that all the clans on Tuchanka were notified and they are all taking precautions. Accounts that are known are all frozen. All known labs are gone. We know there were people here on the Citadel that was helping the Ex-Councillors,  I'm leaving that to Bailey and C-Sec. We have more important issues. The Shadow Broker is digging for intel, I want everyone to check their contacts again,  someone somewhere has the information we need,  they may not realize what they have though." Shepard ate some more.   
  
"In the meantime,  I have some other business to take care of. This mission is the highest priority,  but right now until we get some leads we're pretty much dead in the water. Go take care of any business you guys have, keep the comms clear. We will be leaving here in three days."  
  
"Three days, Shep? Why so long?" Feron said finally looking away from the flower and card to focus on her.  
  
"The ship is in for maintenance, the cells needed to discharge. So thought we could take a breather while they do that,  we also need to restock. I was also told that the transport needed to be thoroughly detailed on the inside as well, as the regular decontamination wasn't good enough,  and that's going to take a day itself."  
  
Feron let out a snort, Legion was still mad at her about the urine and blood stains.   
  


* * *

  
  
The next day they took the transport to the specialty store to have it detailed, Shepard opted for their deluxe package and had the outside hand washed as well. The workers looked in askance to her at first, since they usually just did sky cars,  not Spectre grade battle vehicles. She told them the transport deserved some TLC, just don't go pushing any of the buttons.  
  
They wondered over the wards after Shepard placed the order for their food and water restocks,  at the same time the company would empty out the cubes of recycled matter from below the mess hall. Bailey updated them with a gruff, "no new shit yet."   
  
They were watching the live news broadcast while waiting for their lunch order to arrive. The Hanar was thanking the Council on their swiftness in acting to correct the travesty that was perpetrated on the Drell. Feron glanced over at her just in time to see the grin that came over her face as the Salarian scientists followed by the Hanar and lone golden Drell boarded their vessel to head for Kahje.  
  
"Now we just have to hold out hope those Salarians can help speed things along," he heard Shepard whisper.   
  


* * *

  
  
Legion was once more talking to Shepard after she returned the transport to the ship, all shiny and polished up both inside and out. The ship fully stocked and ready to go.  
  
Shepard was sitting in the pilot chair,  double checking the flight plan when Feron dropped down into the nav chair. "I know we just had three days on the Citadel,  but they were sorta spent still working. What do you say to 3 days of actual vacation? Somewhere between jobs for Liara? We can still monitor the comms from anywhere."  
  
"How about for now we don't. What if we compromise? When we refuel and restock instead of running in and then leaving again,  we stay the night at a hotel instead of on board the ship. A real vacation we can decide on later. Maybe spend a day with Liara? Will that work for now?"  
  
"Hmm,  it's better then nothing,  but maybe at the end of," he paused tapping his fingers on the arm of the chair, "three months,  we go somewhere for a couple of days."  
  
She sat and thought about it, "alright,  three months. But we go to see Kolyat before we do any vacations. If it's safe enough we can bring him too,  he's got to be bouncing off the walls with boredom by now."  
  
"Shep, every time you call him he growls at me, threatens to kill me for bedding you." Feron said to her, shifting in his chair.  
  
"That's the deal, Feron. You want a vacation, I want to see and spend time with Kolyat. Besides he needs to come to terms with you sharing my bed if this is to be something long term."  
  
"This is long term, as in I don't want it to ever end,  you should know that by now, Shep." Feron said quietly to her. "We'll go see Kolyat." He got up from his chair and turned to walk down the aisle when she reached out and grabbed his hand,  giving it a squeeze. A sigh escaped him and he returned the squeeze before heading back down to the mess.   
  


* * *

  
  
Shepard and Feron grunted as they pulled the rather large containers up the ramp, loading them into the cargo hold. "Christ,  what the fuck is in these damn things?' Shepard groaned out as she leaned against one of the crates.  
  
"Scans show they are statues, currently on the stolen artifacts list." Legion told her,  finally activating the small lift on the ship to move them the rest of the way into the hold and securing them.  
  
"For the love of all that's holy,  she better not have us out doing her shopping." Shepard grunted as she carefully pulled her armor off.  
  
"According to the data file they are being returned to their original governments in exchange for intel. A very large amount of intel over a very long period of time." Feron told her.  
  
"Damn,  I'm tired. It's been a month now,  still no word of the Dalatrass and our hold is full of shit for Liara. I think now is a good time to take that day of vacation on her ship,  while she gets all this out of here."  
  
Feron came up behind her, sliding his hands up under her shirt, massaging her breasts, " mmm, now that sounds like a fine idea. I'll send her a message and let her know we're on the way." He leaned forward kissing the back of her neck, "in a few minutes anyway, Legion you want to get us heading toward the relay please."  
  
They felt the ship start to take off as Feron guided her over the the small workbench, bending her over. Pushing the panties she was wearing off her hips and only partially down her thighs,  he slid he fingers along the now damp seam. "Mmm, you're wet already. Eager are you?" He pushed his fused fingers partially in her,  hearing her groan. "Come on, you can do better then that. I want to hear you. Louder." He slid back into her,  twisting his finger around,  then pulling out. Brushing in down along her until he found that little bundle of nerves. A very light brush across it had her groaning some more.  
  
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Is that what you call loud? I can barely hear you. Hmm,  maybe this will help." He said to her in a low gravelly voice as he moved behind her and crouched down. He heard her indrawn breath as he pushed on her hips tilting her up a little more on her toes. His breath was hot against her, and her body started to quiver in response. "Ahh,  the scent of your arousal is growing stronger,  maybe now I can hear the moan I want." His breath washing over her as he spoke then she felt the tip of his tongue glide over her seam. A whimper escaped her and she tightened her grip on the edge of the workbench. His tongue slid in just a fraction before continuing on its path back up. He heard her let out a pant. He continued in  slow assault against her,  his tongue never quite touching the bundle but causing her to shiver and release more fluid in the expectation of more.  
  
"Damn it Feron,  enough. I can't take much more." She moaned out.  
  
"Then let me hear the moan I want. Loud, clear, and obscene." He ran his tongue once more down her,  then flattened out rubbing it against her clit in short,  fast strokes. He felt the shiver in her body,  then the muscles of her legs and buttocks start to tighten,  her pheromones spiked as her orgasm quickly approached. Within seconds of a harsh indrawn breath he heard her expel it along with a deep guttural moan as her body shook,  her nails scrape across the workbench,  his tongue was bathed in her release. He quickly stood up, well as quickly as he could in tight leather pants with raging hard on pressing against the leather, unsnapping only enough to release his cock with a relieved sigh, before he lined himself up with her quivering, dripping entrance.  
  
He didn't give her time to adjust, no more teasing,  but pushed deep inside in one long thrust. The heat from her was scalding, he held her hip with one hand and placed the other in the middle of her back holding her down. He let out a groan of his own as her body kept squeezing around his,  the aftershocks of her orgasm were still strong enough to grip him tightly. He started moving with long, sure strokes, watching as the length of him disappeared into that creamy heat. He heard her nails scrape against the top of the workbench again as her panting increased.   
  
Running his hand from the middle of her back down to her buttocks before palming one and squeezing,  he pushed into her hard and deep,  he felt her tighten around him and go up on her toes. He grunted as he started to release inside of her, bending over to cover her upper body,  resting his head between her shoulder blades his arms beside hers on the bench. When the first wave of his orgasm receded he started moving again, fast, short, hard strokes.   
  
He shifted to grip her hands in his as his body moved faster and harder in hers, she felt and heard his harsh breathing. His grip on her hands tighten as his body reached another orgasm a few minutes later. He laid there still resting on her,  his hands loosening their grip, " you ok? You went very quiet all of a sudden."  
  
She didn't say anything,  when he turned his head in the same direction hers was facing, he seen why. Thane's rifle sat on the workbench, gleaming in the light of the bay. She never put it in the locker after they had made sure the agents they were sent to pick up the delivery from left. She must have just placed the rifle on the bench before going back to help move the crates.  
  
He closed his eyes,  then kissed her shoulder,  between her shoulder blades. Carefully straightening up he gently withdrew from her body,  brushing a light caress down her back and over her hip before stepping back and adjusting his leathers. "Come on,  let's get cleaned up. I can call Liara while you take your shower, a nice hot meal and some rest sounds good to me." He waited as she shifted her head to rest her forehead against the bench,  then slowly stand,  wiggling the now soaked panties back up into place. He drew her in gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead,  cheek, then her lips.   
  


* * *

  
  
Liara met them at the docks,  a beaming smile on her face,  until she got a look at Feron's. The smile slowly started to fade away. 'Welcome back,  both of you. The Broker's crew will removed the items you brought with you from your hold and restock your supplies for you." Shepard gave her a smile then wandered down the corridor leading into the rest of the ship, then eventually where their rooms were.  
  
"Now what the hell happened?" Liara hissed at him, "I thought things were going better."  
  
"They were,  well, until I growled at her about someone sending her flowers and then there was that damn card, it had to be another drell. Bastard called her Siha and knew about me. Son of a bitch even went so far as to ask her to keep him in mind if she ever tired of me. Not to mention when I was trying to hint about something,  I thought maybe if I kept, you know,  showing her porn of what I wanted she would take the hint. That blew up in my face rather spectacularly,  she forgave me though when I explained. Then after we moved those Goddess damned heavy statues,  I sorta... well, damn it, I didn't know she didn't put Thanes rifle away. Damn thing was sitting there like a fucking beacon reminding her of him." Feron shifted his duffel and started stomping down the hall, "it's like we move one step forward,  I get one step closer to ensuring she's mine completely. Then someone or something tries to screw it up,  granted sometimes it's my own fault,  but most of the time it's not."  
  
Liara followed Feron to his own room,  after hanging his head when he seen the DND plastered on the door to Shepard's room." Now we get one full day to be together with no jobs,  no worries and she locks herself in her room. I talked her into a short vacation in another 2 months, but I fucking had to agree to go see Kolyat and let him come along. Liara,  he wants to kill me, what the hell kinda vacation is that gonna be if I gotta keep looking over my shoulder for him. Never mind sleeping with Shep,  he's probably going to just camp outside her door to keep me out." Feron said petulantly as he tossed his bag into one of the uncluttered corners then fell face first onto his bed.  
  
"You know how she feels about Kolyat,  you want her you have to deal with him as well. Dinner will be ready soon. Now quite acting like a baby and stop the pouting before it causes you to lose her,  she's only going to take so much of your childishness before she leaves." Liara told him before she walked out the door,  she glanced back in time to see him dragging his pillow over his head.  
  


* * *

  
  
"Shepard, it's me open the door, please." Liara told her quietly as she pushed the entry chime. The door unlocked and slid open.  
  
"Hey, Liara,  what's up?" Shepard asked as she sat in the chair at the small table her omni tool open.  
  
"Just came to say hello, we didn't say much when you first arrived. Is everything, alright?" Liara asked as she sat on the other chair.  
  
"Hmm? Yeah,  everything is fine,  just trying to finish up this work before dinner is called. So much fricken paperwork still to finish for the Spectres,  then there is the bills for repairs, supplies and it just keeps on and on. I really got to stop letting some of this build up."  
  
"That's not exactly what I meant, Shepard." Liara said her voice still quiet as she watched her friends hand give a very slight shake, most people would never notice it. But Liara had been her friend for a very long time and knew what to look for,  Shepard rarely showed signs of stress,  but her close friends could spot it rather quickly.  
  
"I take it you talked with Feron?" Shepard glanced up to see Liara give a very brief nod. She sighed,  saved her finished work then closed the omni tool.  
  
"He said things had been going rather well except for a few issues. What happened? I thought by now you would have, well, figured things out. You are both my very dear friends, I don't want to see either of you hurt,  but if your just stringing him along,  using him as stress relief,  I will be very put out with you Shepard."  
  
Shepard gave a short sigh and a huff. She put her elbows on the table then dropped her head into her palms,  using them to rub her eyes. "It's not stress relief,  and honestly I am not stringing him along. I really like him,  Liara. He has hinted again at wanting something more..." she moved one of her hands from her eyes and waved it around, "permanent. And trust me Liara some of his, "hints" are as subtle as a train wreck."  
  
"So.  It has been years, Shepard. You know Thane would have wanted you to live a full life. There is a man that loves you,  has loved you for years,  right down the hallway, moping like a little kid because you locked your door to him. He would move the sun and stars to give you anything you asked for. There has to be something more that you aren't saying."  
  
Shepard peeked at her from her one uncovered eye."You are going to think I'm crazy,  Liara,  and maybe I am. But, after we talked,  I went to meditate. I swear I heard Thane,  smelled him then.  His scent was surrounding me, his voice right next to my ear. I swear to God,  Liara,  he was right beside me."  
  
"What did he say to you?"   
  
Shepard closed her eye and leaned back in the chair, a lone tear trickled from the corner of her eye. "We can love more then once in a lifetime, Siha. Liara,  he was so close I thought I could reach out and touch him,  feel him against me,  even if it was just one more time. But when I opened my eyes,  he wasn't there and the smell faded as quickly as it had come." She wiped away the evidence of her memory and didn't comment when she noticed Liara do the same.  
  
"I tried to be what Feron wanted, at least as much as I could. Then,  when I seen Thane's rifle, right next to where Feron and I was ... and I was ... I felt like I was betraying Thane. I had prayed for his forgiveness in starting to live again and enjoying what Feron and I had. I thought I was fine and in time could maybe be something close to what Feron wanted me to be. I could be freer with Feron,  didn't need to hold myself back with him for fear of hurting him. But then in that one brief moment, I don't know, something shifted. Maybe things moved to fast, maybe I just wasn't ready. Hell,  maybe the way he was making me feel scared me and I latched onto the sight of the rifle using it as an excuse. I just don't know Liara." She got up and stretched. Swinging her arms around and pacing.   
  
"I think maybe I need a bit of time away from him. Try to get things into perspective, he sticks to me like superglue. I turn around he's right there, that damn ship is so small we can't help but bump into each other constantly." She put a hand on her hip and the other on her forehead pacing back and forth. "Maybe a week or two,  just to think. To really look at what is going on inside of my head. Maybe I'll go see Kolyat,  spend that time with him. We still have no word on the Dalatrass." She gave a short bounce, " which reminds me, if you get a chance to look into this while I'm here. I made a list of all the sites we went to,  every location that had anything to do with this mess. There is something there,  I know it,  I just can't see it. Maybe a fresh set of eyes, and your ability to get intel would see what it is that I'm missing."  
  
"Alright, Shepard, I'll look into it. But this thing with Feron,  he isn't going to want you to leave without him. It's going to devastate him emotionally to be away from you for even that short period of time. Think carefully about it before you do something like that."


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Feron needs to lighten up, it's coming. Just bear with me a bit longer before what he does pushes Shepard to the edge of her tolerance. 
> 
> I have several more chapters already written out and will edit and post them. Then will be taking a short break. I'm having an issue deciding on whether to post one of the later chapters as I have it written or scraping several and redoing them.

* * *

 

 

After Liara left her room she continued to pace,  burning off nervous energy.  
  
"Kolyat, how's it going? Just calling you with an update. We got both the Councillors but the Dalatrass is still out there somewhere. So I still don't feel comfortable with you going back to the Citadel."  
  
"I am literally going crazy here, Shep. I have to get out of here soon. I mean no offense, it's a nice place, but damn it there is nothing here. I can only watch so many vids,  read so many books and even Mr. Squeakers is getting tired of me taking him in and out of his cage to play." The hamster took that moment to run across the floor in his specially made Normandy SR-2 exercise ball. "Hell,  even the guards are bouncing off the walls. Liara changed them out for some reason a while ago,  they came rushing in, had me get in the bedroom,  then the next thing I knew they told me The Broker ordered it. When I talked with Liara she only said it was for my own safety."  
  
"I was thinking of coming to see you for a week or two, maybe we can go somewhere for that time. I would prefer not the Citadel or Nos Astra. How about Earth? I know you and Thane went to New Mexico. But how about something different this time. The Grand Canyon is breathtaking,  especially by hot air balloon. Or maybe a sugar sand beach,  a week shouldn't put to much strain on your lungs." Shepard was sitting on the chair, rubbing her forehead trying to ease the tension there.  
  
"Is that bastard Feron coming too?" Kolyat crossed his arms and leaned back in his own chair.  
  
"No." She let out a sigh, "just you and me. And Mr Squeakers,  but he has to stay on the ship or in the hotel. Liara may be able to find you a different place and guards for when we get back."  
  
"What's going on? You never wanted to take a vacation before. And you are tense as hell." He leaned forward placing his forearm on the table. "Talk to me Shep. Something has got you upset. Or maybe it's a someone."  
  
"I ... just need to get away from things for a bit and think." She placed her elbows on the table leaning her head on the palm of one. "We'll talk then,  okay?"  
  
He stared at her for a few minutes,  then blinked and agreed. "Let me know when,  so I get my shit packed here and get Mr Squeakers ready. And for the love of the God's please ask Liara to find me someplace that has stuff to do outside of staring at walls." He heard her give a small laugh before their goodbyes and the call terminated.  


* * *

  
  
Dinner that night was fairly quiet at their table,  the other tables were filled with guards and agents that had come to pick up different assignments or drop off items. None of them had a clue that the Shadow Broker was at that very minute sitting at a table in their midst.  
  
"Liara,  I need for you to do me a favor please. I need you to book 2 rooms in the hotel on the beach,  or a 2 bedroom bungalow,  for a week stay. Then I need you to find Kolyat a place other then the one he's in now,  he says hes bored."  
  
"2 rooms?" Feron asked,  he glanced up at her from where he was pushing his food around on the plate.  
  
"Yes,  one for him and one for me." Shepard cleared her throat and shot a glance at Liara,  who leaned back in her chair dreading what was going to happen in the next few minutes.  
  
"When are we leaving?"  
  
"We aren't. Just me and him. No one else," she said quietly also pushing her food around. Feron stood up from the table not saying a word then threw his tray across the room barely missing a Salarian who had gotten up to dispose of his trash. He stalked to his room not bothering to even apologize to the other agent. The entire room went quiet and watched him leave.  
  
"Shepard,  are you sure about this?" Liara leaned in putting her hand on her friends and giving it a squeeze.  
  
"Yeah. I'm going to head out. Do another job,  just notify me when you get everything set up." She got up and quietly disposed of her trash and went to her room. She grabbed the duffel that was packed and sitting by the door then went back to her ship.  


* * *

  
  
The ship had just exited the mass relay out of the system Liara currently had her base in when Shepard let out a heavy sigh and leaned back in her chair. "Legion,  I'm going to go take a nap, pull up the coordinates of the last recon mission on that list and head there. If Liara or Kolyat sends me a comm wake me up, or if it's an emergency otherwise take a message."  
  
Shepard got up from the chair and made her way to her quarters, barely taking time to remove her shoes before falling asleep,  her body was exhausted from pure stress.

  
  
*~* *~*

  
She was sitting on a quiet beach,  the sound of the waves coming up on the shore, the sound so relaxing. The breeze blowing in from the water was warm and carrying the tang of salt with it. There was no one else present,  no sound of children playing or adults talking. No sound of birds crying or dogs barking. Just her and the sound of the sea and wind.  
  
She had her eyes closed, face turned up to the warmth of the sun when she felt a presence behind her. No feeling of danger,  just a knowing that someone was there watching and waiting. The scent of exotic spices and leather enveloped her, a pair of arms circled her from behind and she leaned back into the strong body behind her with a sigh.  
  
"You look beautiful, Siha. I have missed you." Thane whispered in her ear as he held her tightly to him.  
  
"I have missed you so much. So much has happened." She said to him as she turned slightly in his arms to see his beloved face. Scales shining with health and the ribbing that had become so pale now dark red. He was so vibrant.  
  
"I know, my love.  I have heard your prayers and your sharing of news. I watch over you as I promised to do on the night we became one and again when we married. I have watched you become close to Kolyat,  he looks upon you as his mother as you look upon him as a son,  and it warms my heart." He brushed her loose hair from her face and gazed down at her. "I have also watched you become close to another. Yet you hold yourself back from him at the same time. You share with him your body,  but your mind is unsure,  your heart locked away." He held her tighter as she started to struggle. "No, Shepard, no running from this."  
  
He shifted and laid her down beside him on the warm sand. "I have watched him for many years. His love for you was apparent to me even before we married. I have watched it grow,  no matter how hard he tried to deny it. Why do you deny yourself his full love,  why do you deny him yours?"  
  
"Thane,  you know why. I love you,  have loved you since the moment I saw you. I find Feron attractive, he makes me laugh,  infuriates the hell out of me with his antics sometimes." She closed her eyes and swallowed before looking up into those obsidian eyes. "I ... I won't lie,  I desire him, I enjoy what he does to me. What we do together."  
  
"Hmm,  with him you need not hold back, I knew you always did with me. Always so careful, so afraid of hurting me,  of aggravating my condition." His warm,  slightly calloused hand traveled her body, over her arm, skimming her breast. He watched as the nipple puckered beneath the light gauze of the shirt she was wearing. "Why are you so afraid to let yourself fall in love with him, Shepard? What has your mind in turmoil?"  
  
"I am afraid of losing you again. I always knew I would lose you to the disease, but our time was stolen from us by others. And again when I was pulled from the wreckage of the Citadel,  I was so close to keeping my promise to you. I could hear the waves beckoning me, then they found me and pulled me away." She ran her hands up his bare arms she felt the solid muscles beneath her palm and  the smooth scales beneath her fingertips. "But to lose you because I lost myself in another, I can't bear to think about."  
  
"You are afraid I will not be here when it is finally your time to answer Kalahira's call. You are worried that I will leave, and in effect leave you to wander these shores alone?" He saw her give a slight nod,  the uncertainty in her eyes. He leaned in and kissed her forehead. "We are tied to each other, my love. Our bond is unbreakable. I will be here waiting for you,  as I promised I would. I want to you to live the rest of your life, I want you to be happy. It would bring me peace and joy to watch you do so. Then when it is time, I will welcome you home with open arms,  should you desire it."  
  
She caressed his face,  his neck,  the now so soft ribbing below the slight flaring of his cheek frill. "I shall think on it."  
  
"Hmm, listen well my love. Drell are not like humans in many aspects. His struggles had been great before when it was only tu-fira that he had been fighting against, but now that he has, shall we say ... sampled the temptation of your body, felt the joy of sleeping beside you,  waking up next to you, it will be much more difficult to function without you. With most humans,  separation from a partner can be overcome,  sometimes rather quickly. But for the most part you can still perform as normal,  for Drell it is different. Some of us go into battle sleep, we function, do our jobs,  but we are cut off from everything. Others can not. He entered a form of battle sleep during his time of captivity,  but he dwelt only in memories,  his mind fully submerging into them so he could survive what was being done to him. That is extremely dangerous,  there is an even greater risk of losing oneself and not being able to come back to the present. Should he once more fall completely into the memories of his time with you,  there is a chance he won't come back,  a part of him will be unwilling to come back. Then he will become lost, his body fail. It is believed if this should happen,  his soul would also be lost, Kalahira would not be able to find him to bring him to her shores. His soul would be forever lost in the sea unable to move on."  
  
He brushed his hand along the side of her face. "Do not condemn him to that fate because you are afraid to love him. I told you before that we could love more than once. You are proof of that. You brought me back, awoke my ability to live and love again. He can do the same for you.  You have only to let him."  
  
He leaned down once more,  placing his firm, smooth lips on hers. Sharing their breaths one last time. "Our time is up,  for now, Siha. I will not be able to come to you again. Know that I love you and will be here waiting. But live and love again. Be happy."  
  
She felt him becoming insubstantial,  his body fading beneath her fingers. The warmth of the sun fading as well as the sound of the sea. "No, don't go,  not yet. Please."  
  
*~* *~*

  
  
She jerked up in her bed,  tears on her cheeks. Was it a dream? Was it real or just her mind giving in to the stress of everything that was happening?  
  
"Shepard,  we are nearing the coordinates from the file. ETA 30 minutes." Legion's voice came across the comm.  
  
"Thank you, Legion."  
  
Shepard got up grabbed a clean set of undergarments then headed for the shower. She had just stepped through and removed her tank when she noticed something falling from it to land in the sink.  
  
_Sand?_  
  
She glanced up and noticed there was also sand in her hair. It had been real, the sand must have been his way of making sure she believed.

 

* * *

  
  
She quickly scanned the data file again.  
  
Recon mission:  
  
Locate the supply depot ... shipment arrives... should be scanned and put into warehouse... yada yada.  
Shipping containers to remain sealed... sent to assigned bases or sold to black markets... yada yada.  
Last 5 shipments have been short... ah ha. Someone is getting greedy.  
Find the agent/worker responsible, find out how the shipments are being transferred, send proof. Okie Dokie.  
  
Shepard laid flat against the large tree branch,  the visor that Garrus had customized for her zoomed in watching the delivery that was just made. According to the data Liara sent that shipment was to have 6 large sealed container,  4 medium sized ones and 3 small ones. Shepard quickly counted as they were off loaded from the transport. Yep all there,  so it's not the one delivering the shipments if its the usual guy. She watched as they were all scanned and processed,  then loaded onto a lift and taken into the warehouse. Shepard quickly scrambled down the tree and up the other one at the back of the warehouse, she waited until the guard on the roof had his back turned, then lightly dropped to the roof. Thanking Kasumi mentally again for the upgrades to her cloaking app. She hid behind the vent shaft until the guard moved to the other side of the roof in his patrol, quickly ran the scanning program once more to make sure the disabled detection devices hadn't been turned back on then entered the vent.  
  
It was at this point she sent up a thank you to Kolyat for finally agreeing on having a set of drell leathers tailored for her. The male at the shop refused her even though he knew who she was because it just wasn't appropriate. So she begged and pleaded with Kolyat,  when that didn't seem to work she pulled the standard guilt trip and waterworks, asking him how he would feel if she got stuck in the vent or shot because of the noise her gear made,  and died trapped in there like some ... some rodent. After laughing for almost a solid hour at that,  he kissed her cheek then agreed. Finding another tailor who would make them as long as Kolyat agreed to the price,  which she found astronomical,  but transferred the credits anyway.  
  
So here she was crawling through the vents of a Shadow Broker owned warehouse, in a set of black,  dark green and blue leathers tracking down a large shipment of crates. Her visor scanning for the registered identification codes to the crates themselves. It took almost 10 minutes before she saw the worker still moving the lift. She did a quick count,  yep all there still. The worker lowered the lift, depositing the pallet with the crates next to another pallet almost identical to it,  then drive off.  
  
Hmm... nothing so far,  maybe they didn't want what's in the boxes this time. So she settled down in the vent and waited. Legion sent a comm letting her know that Liara had sent a message,  the reservations were made,  she had 3 days to finish up the recon and get Kolyat. If she couldn't do it she needed to know so she could change the dates, a whispered acknowledge was sent back.  
  
She laid there for several hours,  wishing she had something to eat and drink,  then lamenting the fact if she did she would need to use the bathroom,  and Drell leathers had no waste disposal and decon system. Damn things were strictly designed for males who could just whip it out, piss,  do a shake and shove it back in.  
  
Finally after what seemed to her to be forever she saw movement from below her. Another worker looked to be checking over the shipments of various pallets, she seen him move from pallet to pallet then stopped to the one she was tracking,  looked around then moved one of the small containers from that pallet to the one right next to it,  then fiddle with the datapad,  before quickly walking away.  
  
The visor had recorded everything including the inventory and data for the other pallet, she sent the vid to Liara who had some rather choice words to say to her about what was going on. Shepard told her she was going to watch for a bit longer then would leave. Before she disconnected the call,  she urged Shepard to contact Feron,  he hadn't been out of his room since she left and won't open the door. She was getting worried. If she didn't at least see him come out to eat by the next morning she was going to hack the door.  
  
After a few more hours when nothing else happened she wiggled around then made her way back to the vent opening, listened for a few minutes,  then activated her cloak. Quickly and quietly slipped out,  replaced the vent and used the tree to once again get down to the ground then headed to the ship.  


* * *

  
  
Legion set the ship heading to Kolyat's location while she placed the call,  she would be there the next day, letting him know to get packed and make sure Mr. Squeakers was ready as well.  
  
She had a quick shower and headed up to the bridge.  
  
* Call connected *  
  
"Feron, I know you are there,  Legion forced the call to connect this time. So stop acting this way and answer me."  
  
...  
...  
  
"Alright,  fine. I am going to spend time with my son. I can tell Liara I tried. So don't be surprised to have Glyph hack your lock and pester the hell out you."  
  
*Call disconnected*  


* * *

  
  
They arrived on the tropical island, it was hot, the sun was super bright. The hotel was right near the beach but Liara had booked them a large private bungalow right on the beach itself, after the clerk checked them in they piled into a vehicle that looked like a large six wheeled golf cart. He drove them down to their open air bungalow, unloaded their bags, assured them there was plenty of fresh fruits and water in their small cooler then took off back up to the hotel.  
  
They went in to unpack, activating the privacy functions of their rooms. After both of them changed into swimsuits along with lightweight clothing provided by Liara, Shepard would have to get her some more thank you gifts while she was here,  she checked the food situation and tossed him a rose pink, slightly pear shaped fruit.  
  
"What the hell is this?" He asked her while examining the fruit.  
  
"It's a rose fruit. It's a sweet fruit, has the slight flavor of roses to it, the juice is really cooling. Good to eat when you get warm. Plus I know you like your sweets. It's good. Most of the foods here are made with the roots, stems, leaves of plants along with fruits,  vegetables and edible flowers. They do serve fish and shellfish as well,  certain holidays other meats are slow cooked in giant pits all day long for the evening meal. But most of the time its just plants and fish."  
  
He bit into the sweet,  juicy fruit,  grunting before finishing it all off quickly while she gave him a smile. She was slicing up a small green and pink melon for her own snack when he said he was going out on the beach.  
  
She cleaned up the knife and counter before placing another call to Feron. This time he answered,  but didn't say anything, just looked at her, blinked once when she told him she would call him again the next day then disconnected the call. Liara was worried about him, she could barely get him to eat anything and he hasn't spoken to anyone,  just laid in his bed all day.  
  
Shepard carried the plate along with 2 bottles of water down to the table and beach chairs that had been placed a little ways down toward the ocean,  Kolyat was already ensconced on one looking like a giant blue lizard basking on a rock. She settled on the chair after dropping the ice cold bottle of water on Kolyat's abdomen which caused him to jerk and start yelling at her.  
  
"There is a club on the opposite end of the beach from here, good local bands play there. The food is decent and dirt cheap. You want to go there for dinner tonight,  maybe stay for a while and have some fun?" Shepard asked him as she laid back nibbling on the sweet melon.  
  
"Yeah sure,  sounds good. This is so much better then 4 walls and a only a space hamster for company. Even if I'm in this great place with my Mom instead of a hot woman." Kolyat let out a laugh as she reached over and smacked him with her sun hat before putting it back on.  
  
"I'll have you know, men still consider me hot. I seen the glances, even got propositioned a few times lately. Had an absolutely gorgeous golden male come onto me."  
  
Kolyat snorted. "Sorry, but I don't find my Mom attractive in that way. That's just... gross."  
  
"Yeah,  yeah. Go back to sleep." She turned on her omni tool, catching up with the latest news and looking for a cheesy romance novel to read while listening to the sound of the surf. After about 20 minutes she tried to place another call to Feron,  they had to talk about this. There was no answer. She let out a sigh and didn't notice the way Kolyat opened his eyes and stared at her for a minute frowning,  before closing his eyes again.  


* * *

  
  
The food and band were as good as she remembered them to be. They did get a few odd looks when they were seated, everyone there was human. Kolyat didn't seem to mind,  he was getting his fair share of interested looks from the females as light reflected off his scales or as the muscles in his arms rippled. Shepard grinned at him,  as he smirked and sent a flirty glance to several females in the crowd. She had no idea if they could tell what he was doing or not, but seemed to, if the reactions from the females were an indication.  
  
She on the other hand had already turned down several requests for dances, sent back a few drinks with a polite thank you,  but not interested. After they ate,  he pulled her to her feet and dragged her to the dance floor,  soon after she lost him in the crush of females that seemed to have appeared from nowhere. She continued to dance in the giant mass of people on the floor,  then worked her way to the bar to order a drink when she was grabbed by the arm.  
  
"What's a gorgeous lady like you doing with a fucking lizard, bet he can't give it to you like I can." The drunken male slurred at her,  his breath reeking of alcohol and the local spicy tchizi dish.  
  
"Back off before I get pissed." Shepard told him,  as the bartender placed a tall glass of creamy yellow frozen slush, a long pick with an umbrella and packed with fruit was decorating it,  in front of her. He raised an eyebrow,  then slowly gathered up all the empty bottles and glasses that happened to be anywhere near them.  
  
"Come on, don't be that way,  I can show you a good time. Make you forget that alien, a woman like you shouldn't be letting an animal between her legs."  
  
Apparently either he didn't get the hint or didn't hear the grinding of her teeth over the beat of the music,  because he chose that particular time to place his hand on her ass and squeeze. Then everyone was scrambling back away from her as she grabbed his hand,  twisted his arm up behind him then slammed his head into the bar. She dropped him to the floor then picked up her drink like nothing happened.  
  
"Goddess of Oceans,  Mom, can't we even go out without you half killing someone." Kolyat came up beside her,  stepping over the prone body on the floor.  
  
"He should have kept his hand to himself. Not to mention thinking I let my own kid between my legs,  that's just ... gross." She said as a short,  human male came rushing up to them.  
  
"Shepard, so sorry about this. You know how it is with some of the tourists,  they can't hold their liquor." The little man was twisting his hands around,  then called for a medic and police as well.  
  
"Don't worry about it Miguel, I took care of it with no damage this time. Well other then another dent in the bar,  sorry about that."  
  
"No worries, just gives Theo another story to tell when someone asks about it. I'll send you a bottle of our signature Hibiscus Flower Wine. Are you in the hotel?"  
  
"In one of the bungalows,  they'll bring it down." She sat her drink down grabbing the umbrella with the fruit on it, nibbling it as she stepped over the body.  
  
She turned to Kolyat who was leaning against the bar,  a small shot glass in his hand." You ready to go? Things will wind down now since the police are on the way."  
  
"You don't have to stay to file a report?" He finished off the shot then put the glass on the bar. "Nope, all Miguel will need to do is tell 'em it was me." She laughed as he shook his head.  
  
"Yeah,  besides I got enough contact info from the ladies to last me while I'm here." He grinned at her.  
  
"Ok, Cassanova,  let's go. Miguel, let the band know I enjoyed the music tonight,  see ya later."  


* * *

  
  
Shepard just finished preparing their breakfast when Kolyat came out of his room, shuffled over to her,  kissed her cheek then grabbed the cup of tea from her before collapsing on the stool. He had his hands wrapped around his head as if it pained him.  
  
"Theo gave you a shot of Okaloa didn't he?" She asked him as she placed the plate in front of him, it was filled with fruit, a small muffin, and a bowl with some sort of paste like substance.  
  
He only groaned at her. "Eat, I'll make you something for your head." She got up and went to the kitchen, he glanced at her as she was pulling various items from the cooler,  mashing them in a small bowl with what looked like a stone. He nibbled on the muffin then used the spoon to investigate the paste."What is this?"  
  
She glanced back to see what he was referring to, "it's made from some local roots, it's good for you. Doesn't taste bad,  eat it with the fruit. It will keep your energy up,  your father liked it when I made it the one time I brought him here." She brought over a small ball of ... something,  and held it out to him. " Here this will counteract the effects of the drink he gave you."  
  
She cleaned up the kitchen then sat down to her own breakfast.  
  
"How do you know so much about this place?" He asked her after he sniffed the ball then grimaced before popping it into his mouth chewing and swallowing as fast as he could.  
  
"My parents used to bring me here a couple of times a year before they were killed. I would come here on the long shore leaves during N7 training. I brought Thane here once after we were married, less then a week before the Alliance took me from him. This place holds many memories for me, some good,  some bad. Now I have one more memory, having brought my son here,  sharing some time with him before my work intrudes again." He reached over gave her hand a squeeze then they finished eating before he picked up the plates, cleaning then putting them away.  
  
They walked the beach, Shepard pointed out some of the local flora that was used as food on the island. Then they went swimming after going back to their bungalow.  
  
Shepard squeezed out some of the seawater from her hair as she walked back up to the chairs,  Kolyat it seemed was quite a hit with the females at the club the night before,  several had tracked him down,  they were now vying for his sole attention by parading around in barely legal beachwear. He wasn't complaining at all. She wasn't surprised but was a bit put out since this part of the beach was listed as private and they shouldn't have been able to walk there without an escort. She sent a message to the hotel,  telling them about the lax in security,  but for now let the women there, if a problem arose she would take care of it.  
  
She tried to connect to Feron's omni tool only to have it come back as being unavailable. She sent a message to Liara letting her know. Liara told her a few people had seen him earlier walking around so it seemed like he was getting over his little tantrum.  
  
They went to a different restaurant for dinner and she took him to another bar that wasn't on the beach,  mainly locals who all knew her and greeted her. Kolyat got into a dart throwing competition with one of the men,  losing spectacularly. He took it all in good humor and they finally told him the guy was a champion that still held the record for wins in the local area. They bought him some drinks, one of the local girls whispered something to him,  a few minutes later he disappeared. Shepard seen him being pulled into the small back room and laughed, then got up heading for one of the other tables where an arm wrestling match was going on.  
  
Kolyat came staggering back,  straightening his shirt and tucking it back into his pants about 30 minutes later, catching the beer Shepard tossed to him and almost draining it in one go. "God's, I think I'm in love with this place." She only burst out laughing before taking the seat across from a burly, hulk of a man.  
  
"Think you can beat me this time, Sanca?" She smirked at the guy.  
  
"Taukine, I've been waiting for this for a year." The guy said,  then flexed. Kolyat could swear the guy's biceps were thicker then his thighs.  
  
"Let's do this Taukahna, Leela collect the bets." She said to the same girl that had taken Kolyat back to give him a more personal welcome. He choked on the rest of the beer when he seen Shepard wink at her.  
  
One of the other men came up beside Kolyat, placed a bet for Shepard to win when Leela passed by him. "You are Taukine's son, yeah?"  
  
"Taukine?" Kolyat asked him, not understanding the word as the translators only worked with the common languages not local dialects.  
  
"Ahh,  means sister. You heard her call Sanca, Taukahna? Means brother. Shepard,  she spent much time here when she was small before the accident. Then she came back often,  the locals, we think of her as a sister." He took a drink from his bottle, "we all hoped she would settle here after the war. But loosing her husband, your father,  did something to her, inside. She wasn't the same,  but now something else has happened. She seems less haunted now. Maybe soon she will come home."  
  
Leela passed by one last time and Kolyat placed his bet, jerking a little as she ran her hand down his chest, spilling some of his beer and causing the males around him to laugh. He watched as the cheers and jeers started all around the table. Kolyat placed his bet for Shepard but was wondering if it was smart when her tiny hand was engulfed by the larger males.  
  
When the buzzer went off, he watched as both of them strained against the other, sweat started pouring down each of their faces as the competition got heated with both sides loosing then gaining ground, then he watched as Shepard gritted her teeth then bared them at the huge male slowly exerting more pressure until he big man's knuckles slammed into the table.  
  
Shepard stood up with her arms raised, to the catcalls and cheers of those around her. The winner's received their credits and everyone went back to drinking, the big man picked Shepard up in a hug,  then tossed her in the air swearing the next time he was going to win.  


* * *

  
  
The next morning Kolyat was watching Shepard prepare breakfast asking her what it all was,  after eating they went shopping for small souvenirs for Liara and things to take back with him,  she refused to let him buy the junk from the tourist areas. But took him to the local crafters who all welcomed him as family after learning he was her son. She tried several times to get in contact with Feron,  only to not be able to connect. She was frowning at her omni tool again, and Kolyat seen it. He rubbed the back of his head, then distracted her by asking a question about some of the stranger looking fruits.  
  
Shepard was lounging in her chair while some of the local children had come down to play at the beach,  it was safer here for them then on the other side where the tourists would sometimes leave stuff laying in the sand. One of the hotel staff had brought them down after getting the ok from Shepard. She was watching Kolyat building a sand castle with one of the little girls when she felt the hairs raise on the back of her neck. Her eyes quickly scanned the beach near the kids,  when she didn't see anything, she started to look around the area trying not to tip off whoever was causing her reaction. Finally spotting a figure heading her way staggering and stumbling in the sand.  
  
"Feron... oh my God." Shepard jumped out of her chair as Feron fell face first into the sand, screaming for Kolyat and running as fast as she could toward the prone figure.  
  
"Help me get him into the bungalow," Kolyat said in a hoarse voice as they picked up the unmoving Drell carrying him between them. Shepard shouted for the kids to run up to the hotel and for the oldest to go get Sanca,  let him know it's a medical emergency.  
  
"Shit, Shep. We need to get him out of these leathers,  he'd dehydrated badly and we need to get him cooled down." Kolyat started to undo the stiff leather of the jacket,  grimacing when some of the outer layer of dead scales came away along with the jacket," get a bucket of cool water and cloths,  we need to get this shed off of him before it can cause him more damage and scars."  
  
Kolyat worked quickly to strip the rest of the clothing from him, telling Shepard to fold the extra sheets and lay them on the floor, they would need to wash him and didn't want to get the bed soaked. Sanca came running through the door shouting for her along with the child that went to get him. Shepard laid a light sheet across Feron before yelling where they were.  
  
Sanca asked questions of Kolyat as they worked together to get the shed off,  Kolyat checked then double checked Feron's eyes and nostrils to make sure the capsules that had formed over them were completely off. Then Sanca hooked up a portable IV and hung a bag of saline fluid after checking his omni tool for as much info on Drells with severe dehydration that he could find.  
  
"Taukine? Who is this other Drell? Why is he like this?" Sanca turned to her for some answers, as he hooked up some equipment that some of the locals had just brought through.  
  
"His name is Feron. He... he's my mate. I needed some time away. I didn't understand this would happen. It wasn't like this with Thane, when the Alliance took me." Shepard was shaking,  her tanned skin now looking as pale as it did when she first arrived.  
  
"That's because I was with him." Kolyat stood up gathering her into his arms,  feeling her shaking.  
  
"I.. I thought he would be alright,  it was only going to be a couple of weeks. After we left here I was planning to go back to talk with him,  he wasn't answering the messages or calls I sent." She buried her head into Kolyat's chest, "Liara said some of the other people saw him a couple of days ago, walking around, so she assumed he was finished with his temper tantrum. But he must have snuck off the base, making his way here."  
  
Kolyat sighed, "he was running on instinct,  searching for his mate. He probably won't even know how he got here once he wakes up. Hopefully we can draw him out, there is a good chance,  since he was aware enough to track you."  
  
"This is all I can do for him. We are not exactly equipped to handle Drell specific issues. But it seems plenty of fluids and cool baths seem to work for both our people. Make him the papois and drinks made from the rose fruits, Sina's mini watermelons and muskmelons. I'll have one of the local kids bring down bags of fresh every morning for you. I'll stop by the hotel and let them know what is going on."  
  
"Thank you, Taukahna."  
  
Kolyat walked with him to the door making sure all the children that had gathered outside of the bungalow knew that the new drell was sick and they would have to go back home,  no one would be able to watch them on the beach for a while. He thanked them all for getting help so quickly for his Mother's mate. Sanca raised an eye brow as Kolyat grimaced at that last part.  
  
"If you need me just go up to the hotel,  they can get a message to me." Sanca said as he shook Kolyat's hand then shooed the children in front of him.  


* * *

  
  
When he came back in he heard Shepard talking in a low tone to Feron, he looked in her room to see her kneeling on the floor,  running a cool cloth over Feron's face and ribbing. Feron still hadn't woken up. He went and grabbed one of those same rose fruits he had when he first got here then sat on the couch looking out at the ocean.  
  
She came out of the room a bit later, set about making some lunch for them both. Then he watched as she made the paste that she gave him that first morning. He was amazed at just how many different roots were added. Then she added some flower petals from a small container after she let him smell them and told them what they were. Lastly she smashed up various fruits adding some of the liquid to the paste. The rest were put into a tall glass and she pulled out what she called a stick blender,  using it on the fruit until it was almost pure liquid. Adding some crushed ice from the machine and stirring it up.  
  
She propped Feron up against her, talking to him, while spooning some of the fruit drink in his mouth. She stroked his throat until he swallowed. Kolyat watched her do this over and over again until almost half of the drink was gone. The paste she did the same, spooning a small amount in then stroking his throat until he swallowed.  
  
Kolyat went out and duplicated the process to make the drink and brought one back for each of them. They continued to take turns washing Feron down to bring his temperature down. Kolyat pointed out the difference in the color of the ribbing,  once his temperature was back to normal his ribbing would be the right color. Right now it was spread wider then normal,  his coloration was an extremely dark purple as his body was trying to cool off. They kept it up all that night.  
  
The next morning there was improvement,  his ribbing was almost the right color,  but he had yet to awaken. Kolyat was asleep when one of the older villager boys rode in on a bicycle loaded with bags of fruits,  vegetables, roots and other materials. Shepard thanked him and his parents for helping provide the items that day. He asked if the other Drell was going to be ok and all she could say was she hoped so.  


* * *

  
  
She told Kolyat to go down to the beach or into town and enjoy the rest of the day, she would be fine there for the next few hours,  just to be back by dinner time. One of the local fishermen had brought her a fish and she would prepare it for them that night. Kolyat changed clothes and went for a swim,  then walked down to the club from their first night there. The bartender gave him a drink and placed some of the vegetables he had grilling on a plate for him. When he was approached by some of the female tourists he turned them down saying he didn't have time for their games. The bartender laughed at the looks on the females faces and told him there was no charge for the food or drink, it was on the house.  
  
Shepard was spooning more fruit juice into Feron when he twitched. She dropped the spoon onto the tray and called his name. "Feron,  it's me. It's Shep. Please wake up. You're such a damn idiot,  why couldn't you have answered the calls."  He sighed but didn't wake up. She went back to spooning paste and fruit drink into him. She kept talking but there was no other signs he heard her.  
  
When Kolyat came back he took over for her so she could get a nap in before fixing dinner. He mumbled to Feron low enough for Shepard not to be able to hear that if he didn't wake up soon he was gonna kick his ass anyway. "Feron,  damn it you have to snap out of it, if you hurt my Mom,  I swear I'm gonna kick your ass clear to Kalahira's shores and then my Dad's spirit is gonna use you for target practice." That got another twitching response from Feron,  Kolyat held his breath then released it when nothing more came.  
  
Shepard was preparing a huge fish outside on a portable table one of the men had brought down to her along with a huge grill. " Holy hell,  Shep. How in the hell do they expect us to eat that entire fish?" He watched her quickly debone and filleted a giant green and yellow fish,  it must have weighted at least twenty pounds.  
  
"We'll grill it,  then I'll package up a portion for lunch tomorrow,  another will be used for dinner,  I'll make us a salad. This is a treat here, Kolyat. These fish are usually only sold to the touristy restaurants for a large amount of money. Sometimes the money from just one fish has to last a fisherman and his family for months. They usually eat the smaller fish more easily caught along with the fruits and veggies that the village community grows and shares amongst themselves. Hand me that stack of green leaves."  
  
She placed a portion of the fish onto each of the leaves,  put some herbs on them along with pieces of fruit then wrapped them up,  tying them with strips cut off of another plant. She placed each package on the grill then closed it, setting the timer on her omni tool.  


* * *

  
  
They ate their meal in Shepard's room, Feron seemed to be sleeping a bit easier. "He's looking better now,  and I got a reaction from him earlier." Kolyat nodded indicating he did too. "So honestly,  how do you like it here? I know it's not modern like the Citadel,  and there isn't a ton of things to do. But the weather is usually pretty nice year round,  they do get some bad storms about one month out of the year.  The people are really nice here once you get to know them,  well the locals anyway."  
  
They talked back and forth about what they thought of the island and people that actually lived there, and about the tourists. Kolyat had to admit he preferred the locals over the tourists. Then while Shepard showered,  Kolyat cleaned up their meal. He really did like it there, he knew he complained a lot about the way things were on the Citadel,  and again when he wasn't on the Citadel about not having what the Citadel did. But for some reason he really liked the low tech island paradise.  


* * *

  
  
Shepard washed Feron once more later that night,  and with Kolyat's help got him up into the bed. They watched a vid and settled in for the night. "Goodnight, Feron. Please wake up soon." She kissed him gently, brushing her hand over his face then snuggling beside him like she used to do.  
  
She was in the midst of an erotic dream, Feron was licking his way down her body,  stopping to draw her hard nipple into his mouth,  his tongue swirling around it before moving further down her body. She felt his hot breath on her stomach,  kissing along some of the faded scars, his tongue dipping into that intriguing little dimple. His hand moving on her thighs and hips,  gently pushing her legs apart. His lips pressed small light kisses up her thigh moving ever closer to her center. She let out a groan as she felt the first swipe of his tongue against her,  his fingers parting the outer folds so he could have access to the dewy inner folds and that tiny bundle of nerves that he knew with just the right amount of teasing could make her scream his name.  
  
"Mmm, Feron,  don't stop." Shepard groaned out, she felt his tongue on her again, gently rubbing against the little bundle of nerves, holding her hips in place as she tried to grind against his mouth. She sighed as he gently kissed his way up her body, sucking on the nape of her neck. She felt him enter her,  then she heard, "Shep,  open your eyes," whispered right next to her ear. Her eyes snapped open, meeting the bright green irises of his as his body slid fully into her creamy warmth.  
  
His possession of her body was slow, the muscles in his back and arms flexing as his hips slowly moved against hers. She touched his face,  his lips, ran her hand down to his shoulders,  gripping onto him as he pushed in deeper,  their breaths mingling on sighs and quiet groans. He lowered his lips to hers,  kissing her deeply as he continued with his gentle lovemaking. He shifted her leg up higher on his body,  changing their angle, giving him better access. She had almost reached her release when he started to once again lick then suck on that sensitive area of her neck, she didn't care that he was going to leave a mark on her. She reached her peak,  scraping her nails along his back, her body quaking,  the clenching of her inner walls making him groan as well. With only a few more thrusts,  he reached his own climax. Gripping tightly to her thigh with one hand while the other gripped the edge of the pillow.  
  
"Shepard." Feron whispered, "never leave me again, you are my soul." He closed his eyes withdrawing from her and moving to her side, he held her as closely as he could,  wrapped himself up in her arms and legs,  then drifted off to sleep.


	18. Chapter 18

* * *

 

 

Kolyat woke up at the usual time the following morning, went out to get his breakfast and tea that Shepard would already been up making only to find her not in the kitchen. He seen some bags sitting on the small porch and brought them inside, scratching his forehead. _She must be exhausted._  
  
He quietly went to her door and opened it a crack, saw bright green eyes staring at him,  then shoved it the entire way open while yelling, "son of a bitch,  when the hell did you wake up. I'm gonna kick your ass for pulling that stunt and worrying, Shep!"  
  
Shepard jerked awake,  jumped out of bed and reached for her pistol. Only to hear Kolyat yell, "God's sake,  Mom, put some damn clothes on. I'm never gonna get that outta my head. I'm scarred for life now." Kolyat had slapped his hand over his eyes and blundered his way back to the kitchen. She came out a few minutes later wearing a light gauze dress, rubbed the back of his head,  where he had it pillowed on his arms on the table top.  
  
"Feron woke up sometime early this morning. He's in taking a shower,  if you don't mind can he borrow one of your lightweight outfits until I can get some from one of the shops in town."  
  
He grumbled but got up quickly went and grabbed a set.  She saw him throw the clothes in her bedroom then slam the door. Shaking her head she handed him his morning tea,  then got back to work making their usual breakfast.  
  
Several minutes later as Shepard had just finished making the papois and putting it into small bowls, Feron came out. He headed straight for Shepard nuzzled the side of her head then froze when he heard Kolyat growl and bang his fist on the table.  
  
"Kolyat." Shepard carried over his breakfast tray,  kissed the top of his head, and gave him the "stop causing trouble look". She prepared the other two trays and they sat down with Kolyat,  who was spooning his fruit laden paste in his mouth with more speed then usual.  
  
"I need to take him to Sanca's later and do some clothes shopping. Did you want to come along?"   
  
"No, I'll stay here. I want to swim some more and go down to the club.  Theo gave me some grilled vegetables the other day, I want to find out what they were."  
  
"Alright,  tonight is game night at the bar. They open up the back room where they keep some antique game machines for people to play, also the pool table will be set up and karaoke. Well I should say drunk karaoke,  because they make you drink a full bottle of home brew before you get up to sing,  and by the time they start the machine up most of us are already drunk to begin with. It will be fun. Leela might be there,  or her sister Rozie."  
  
Kolyat froze with his spoon midway to his mouth, "sister?"  
  
Shepard quirked an eyebrow, " uh huh, they have been known to ... share." She watched as Kolyat's hand shook,  the papois falling from the spoon.  
  
"I'll be there." He said quickly as he shoveled the rest of his breakfast in his mouth.   
  
"Yeah, I kinda thought you might. Do you mind cleaning up this morning,  I want to get an early start."  
  
"Sure. See you when you get back." Kolyat bent placing a kiss on Shepard's cheek then gathered up the trays as Shepard and Feron got ready to leave.  
  


* * *

  
Sanca checked over Feron,  told him as best he could tell he would recover. He was told to eat as much of the food and drinks that Shepard would fix him as he could,  he needed to replace the vitamins and minerals from his dehydration and the foods were rich in those.   
  
Shepard took him shopping,  buying several more things for Liara, who had not said much,  but made a few vague comments about replacing security at the base when Shepard called to tell her that Feron showed up the other day and had been ill. She had thought he was still in his room, only coming out at night for food. Funny how she wouldn't meet Shepard's eyes on the holo screen when she said this.  
  
"Enough, Shep. I want to go back to the room now." Feron whispered to her after she stopped at another place to look around. She glanced up at him,  seeing the look in his eyes,  the way they would focus on her lips before shifting back up to look into hers. She paid for the trinket and they walked back toward the bungalow,  her hand firmly in his. The locals would call greetings to her, and she would call back letting them know they would be at the bar later tonight.  
  
When they made it to the bungalow they seen Kolyat down at the beach, several children were there along with a few parents. She knew the kids would be okay. Feron pulled her into the bungalow after she called out to Kolyat letting him know they were back. They placed the bags on the counter, Shepard tossed his new clothes in the washer minutes before he picked her up and carried her to her room. She yelled at him that he wasn't in any shape to be doing that,  only to be silenced with a kiss.  
  


* * *

  
  
Feron had just started round two when they heard the front door bang and Kolyat yelling out that it was past lunch time, "I want more of that fish. And Theo told me what vegetables they were." He kept yelling, until Shepard came out of the bedroom with a raised eyebrow. Seen him standing there with a frown on his face,  his arms crossed leaning on the counter.   
  
She put the clothes into the dryer,  then pulled out the fish portions along with various vegetables to make a salad with. He made what Shepard called a fruit smoothie,  then went and sat at the table,  staring at Feron who had just come out the bedroom and sat down without saying anything to either of them.   
  
"Alright,  you bastard,  what made you think sleeping with my Mom would be acceptable? I asked you to help her with tu - fira,  not to fuck her." Kolyat demanded from where he was sitting,  the tall glass in his hands. Shepard walked over and smacked the back of Kolyat's head,  he only flinched a little and continued to glare at Feron.  
  
"I... I don't know how it happened.  I fell in love with her when she rescued me. I didn't know then about Thane,  but by the time I did it was already to late. I was so lost in tu fira myself, Liara helped me with not completely losing myself. Gave me work to do,  something to try and keep me focused. While your Father lived it worked. Then came the war, it gave me more focus. But then after the war... after the war it became a nightmare,  all I wanted was Shep. I tried to stay away, I tried to control the tu fira." Feron picked up the drink that Shepard had placed in front of him.  
  
"I tried to get her attention, I failed. She was so wrapped up in Thane. Then that night,  oh God's that night. One kiss and I was completely lost. Honest to the Goddess of Oceans, Kolyat,  I didn't mean for it to happen. But she is my soul, I can not be without her. I was fine as long as she was near,  where I could see her,  touch her ... hell even if I could catch her scent. When we were together I was like my old self, I could joke and tease. I felt alive again."  
  
Kolyat sat there and stared at him, he knew his Dad and Shepard loved each other deeply, "They hadn't yet married when they rescued you?"  
  
Feron blinked at him and Shepard slid the trays before them laden with food,  before sitting down in her own chair. "No,  we had just stopped you from pulling that asshole stunt thinking you could be an assassin even though you weren't trained. He had yet to even admit an attraction to me. Then I got the intel for Liara, we rescued Feron. He was ill at first,  I kept going back to check on him to bring supplies for his medical care to Liara. I would sit and talk to him for a bit." She shakily took a drink of her fruit juice, "then one night, Thane, he finally admitted to me his feelings. I got wrapped up in work again, and since Feron was on the road to recovery we didn't go back for a while,  by the time we did, Thane and I had, become close, and then a few months later we married."  
  
Kolyat stabbed the fish with his fork. "Did dad go with you to see Feron?" Shepard shook her head at him,  her mouth full, after she swallowed she said, "not at first,  not until after we had started a relationship. Why?"  
  
Kolyat sighed and looked at her, "he knew,  he loved you and found out Feron loved you as well. He knew he was dying,  you both did. He knew someone would love you,  take care of you after he was gone."  
  
They finished their meal in silence each lost within their own thoughts.   
  


* * *

  
That night the bar was packed, the game room overflowing with people playing the ancient machines, all of them careful with the handling of the controls. The younger ones showed Kolyat how to play them and Shepard could hear him laughing over the din of from the outer room.  
  
Feron was fairly quiet, he had drawn many female admirers when they first entered the room, until he shouted to let him alone he belonged to Shepard. They apologized to them both,  Shepard was considered family and they hadn't been told.   
  
Rozie showed up about an hour after they did,  but had one of the local males in tow, she was taken. Kolyat didn't seem put out,  he was having to much fun on the video games. Typical male.  
  
"Hey,  come on. You have been overly quiet since you stumbled up the beach. It is so unlike you." Shepard said to Feron after she slipped into his lap. He pulled her closer,  resting his forehead against hers.  
  
"I don't remember anything, Shep. Nothing after you told me I wasn't coming with you. Nothing past throwing the tray. Not until I woke up,  pressed against your side,  I didn't know how I got here. Then after Kolyat woke us up in such an elegant manner I realized something happened. You have no idea,  what it is like,  just how frightening it is to be a Drell but unable to remember. It is a part of who we are."  
  
"You are here now. I kept trying to contact you,  but you had shut off your omni tool. I was going to tell you I would be back at the base as soon as the week was up and that we needed to talk. We still do,  but not tonight. Tonight we should be having fun,  we leave the day after tomorrow. But don't you ever pull another stunt like that one again, Feron." She stroked his ribbing and started kissing him.   
  
Sanca yelled out it was time to start karaoke, a collective groan echoed through the room quickly followed by laughter as one of the more drunk males staggered up to the machine,  downed the homebrew then let out a huge belch before starting to sing a random song that popped up on the screen.  
  
Feron had finally started to enjoy the evening when he noticed Shepard staring at Kolyat,  who kept glancing at one of the ladies sitting at the bar. "Be right back." She kissed Feron's cheek frill then got up making her way to Kolyat.  
  
She grabbed Kolyat by the hand and pulled him to a far corner of the room, what ever she was saying must have been serious,  she had what most of her close friends called "the Commander look" on her face. Kolyat swallowed his beer,  nodded then rubbed his head before shooting a glance back at the female. Shepard shook his arm and then shook a finger at him. When he nodded again,  she touched his shoulder then stood on her toes to kiss his cheek before walking back to Feron.  
  
"What was that about?" He whispered in her ear the moment she sat back down.  
  
"The female at the bar,  the one wearing the red and blue dress. That is Sanca's younger sister,  a good girl. Sanca is really protective of her. She isn't like Leela and her sister, she isn't one to be sampled before moving on to another. Kolyat is already intimately familiar with Leela's attributes,  I wanted to make sure he knew Sina wasn't to be toyed with, she is for marriage not a quick fuck in the backroom."  
  
Shepard kept an eagle eye on Kolyat the rest of the night,  she still noticed him looking at Sina but he kept his distance. Even when Leela finally got to the bar he didn't pay much attention to her,  she didn't seem heartbroken just moved on to one of the tourists who had wandered into the bar.   
  
Shepard dragged a half drunk Kolyat up to the machine, he tried to pull away until she got him in a standing side headlock and he agreed to sing with her. They drank their beers,  which weren't watered down like the mass brewed ones were,  then sang some old Earth songs,  which Kolyat was having trouble with. Whether it was because the words on the screen were becoming rather fuzzy or because he didn't know the song didn't matter,  everyone was laughing and having a good time.  
  


* * *

  
  
Their final day was spent lounging on the beach and letting Feron soak up as much sunshine as he wanted. Just like Kolyat once he had sat in the chair he didn't want to move again. They discussed how to get both ships back to Liara's base,  Feron didn't want to leave Shepard even to follow her in his ship. So Kolyat was to stay on Feron's ship, Legion would set the coordinates then link to Feron's VI to initiate the docking protocols, all Kolyat had to do was not touch any of the buttons.  
  
They took the last of the fish,  minus one wrapped package of it, Kolyat insisted on having one more serving while in route to the Broker's ship,  and distributed it to the elderly in the village. Kolyat and Feron had both learned that the locals shared everything they raised or caught with each other when someone was in need. There was no one digging in trash cans for food,  no one sitting in the rain from not having shelter, no abandoned children starving in the streets.   
  
During Kolyat's time in C-Sec at the beginning he would often accompany Bailey,  watching as him and the medics would pull bodies of unwanted children from vents and ducts. The people of the Citadel didn't care about the poorer of their neighbors, as he was giving out the extra food to some of the older men,  he would get flashs of memory. The sneers he would see on the more affluent people when someone less fortunate would get close,  or as they just passed by them. The Asari looking down on the dirty children,  didn't matter the species,  even their own would garner the looks of disgust from them, Turians looking down on the dirty faced humans asking for credits for food. Even the Humans would shove them aside yelling at them to get away from them,  calling them dirty street rats. He started hating the Citadel and the vast amounts of people living there.  
  


* * *

  
  
The local children helped them to carry all their purchases to the ships, the smallest one,  carefully carrying Mr Squeakers' house,  helped by her older brother.  
  
Sanca, Sina and several others carried the luggage and small gifts for them from the villagers. Everyone was saying their goodbyes, both Sanca and Shepard noticed Sina and Kolyat's goodbye seemed to last a bit longer then the others. Sanca cleared his throat noisily and Kolyat's ribbing flushed a bit darker red as he took a step back from the girl.   
  
Sanca and Shepard looked at each other with identical raised eyebrows. Then he grabbed her tossed her up in the air again,  before putting her on feet. "Taukine,  don't stay away for so long. It is about time for you to come home. And by the way it looks, your son is going to want to make this his home as well." He gave a brief nod in his sister's direction again,  seeing her and Kolyat talking once more. A respectable distance between them,  but they wasn't paying attention to anyone other then each other.  
  
"Maybe soon. There is so much I have yet to take care of,  then there is this whole mess with Feron." She rubbed her forehead as the big man put his arm around her shoulders.  
  
"He seems a good man, Shepard. You deserve to be happy,  after losing Thane and everything during that damn war. You above all else deserve to be happy,  and that man,  there is no denying his love for you. It shines from him. Let me know when you are ready and we shall prepare you a home, one large enough for your family now,  and the ones to come." Sanca grinned at her,  once again lifting his eyes to see his sister smiling at Kolyat.  
  
"I have a feeling he is going to not want to go back to the Citadel after I ensure his safety." She sighed and looked over at Feron who was surrounded by the elderly women,  his eyes were shifting from face to face as they were all talking to him at once. She let out a small laugh, "I better go rescue him from them. Before they have already decided on our wedding and told him the names of each one of our children,  along with what ever else takes their fancy."  
  
"Time for us to leave now. We thank you for your hospitality and the sharing of your bounty when my mate was ill." Shepard assured them they would be back soon. She looked at Feron who had a lost little boy look on his face, then at the vast amount of trinkets in his hands and gave a grin. She let out a piercing whistle to get Kolyat's attention,  who jerked away from Sina.  She noticed the flash of something in his hand before he shoved it into his pocket. Shepard gave a jerk of her head toward Feron's ship,  after waving goodbye to everyone they all boarded.   
  


* * *

  
  
"Shep, what are these? The women,  so many women,  all talking at once and shoving these into my hands." He held out his hands overflowing with trinkets of a variety of colors and sizes.  
  
"Come on, I'll explain to you after we are on the way. Legion,  are all the villagers clear of the ships?"  
  
"Yes, Shepard,  they have boarded their vehicles and have moved back behind the safety area. I have accessed the VI to Feron's ship,  and the coordinates for the Broker's base have been programmed in. The ships are ready to lift off when you give the signal."  
  
"Alright, Legion get Feron's ship in the air and then ours. Head straight for the Broker's ship. Thanks." She glanced over at Feron who was still looking at the things in his hands. She gave a laugh at his expression, "come on back to the mess."  
  
She explained to him it was local custom, the women would make trinkets,  some would be sold to the tourists. It was how they made their credits,  but many others such as the ones in his hands were given as gifts. She pointed out that some of them were made with prayers for his protection, long life and happiness. Some were made with prayers for his health. Then she started to laugh as she pointed out the ones for luck and happiness in marriage. Then she separated one out of the bunch, "this one is for ... your virility. I have a sneaking suspicion on which of those women snuck this one in here." She smiled at him, "they liked you Feron. This many trinkets is unusual. Normally the male is given two maybe three when they are first met, more are given if they marry into a local family. Then one is made for each child, each of the women adding to it over the course of the woman's pregnancy,  with the final bead being added at the time of birth signifying the gender of the child."  
  
Feron was looking at the trinkets,  then carefully gathered them all up taking them back to their quarters.  
  
Shepard sighed,  placed her head in her hands and fell into the memory of the three days she and Thane had been on the island. They were so happy, but she knew Thane couldn't live there,  the humidity even then was high enough to set his coughing off. They had to tell Sanca about his disease, since he would be the one to administer aid should Thane need it, from there it had spread through the village. People of all ages had come by bearing gifts and trinkets, food prepared with prayers for healing. After they left he insisted on her packing away the trinkets, all but the one he had been wearing,  the gifts were placed around her apartment with no one knowing what they were. The container had been sealed and currently stored in one of the safes on the Shadow Broker's ship.  
  
Kolyat had asked about the beaded necklace after his father had died,  he told her Thane would only tell him it was a gift and was not to be removed after his death, but nothing more. When the memorial service for Thane was over she had set him down and told him the story behind that necklace. The oldest village woman had made it, adding prayers for his soul,  his forgiveness for his past deeds. She added prayer bead after prayer bead for those three days,  finally giving it to him right before he left, telling him he would be forgiven and would be welcomed with open arms when his soul was called. He didn't ask her how she knew of his anguish,  his deepest fear, all he did was bow down as the woman placed it around his neck.  
  
Now here she was with Feron,  and that blasted woman had the nerve to slip a virility charm in amongst the others.  
  


* * *

  
  
When they arrived at the Broker's base Shepard agreed to spend the night there before taking Kolyat to his new hideaway. So while Feron was settling in, Shepard went down to the small room Liara kept as a sort of guest quarters, banged on the door then pushed and held the entry chime until Kolyat opened the door.  
  
"What the hell,  Shep." He said as she pushed him back into the room.  
  
"Show me." She held out her hand and wiggled her fingers.  
  
"Show you what?" Kolyat said nervously,  his fingers twitching.  
  
"You know what,  let me see it. Now."  
  
He heaved a sigh,  then dug into one of his hidden pockets on the inside of his coat pulling out a small beaded bracelet with a dangling charm on it. Placing it into Shepards hand. She narrowed her eyes at him then looked at the bracelet and the charm, "hmm, you know what this is? She told you what it meant before you accepted it?"  
  
"Yeah, " he cleared his throat. He watched as she turned the bracelet this way and that.  
  
"When did you talk to her other then before we left?" Shepard saw him jump a little then look away nervously, "I sorta ran into her in town, the day you took Feron to see Sanca. After I stopped by Theo's I went to the town to look around, I just finished buying one of the rose fruits when I turned to fast and bumped into her. I helped her up and we started talking, I carried her things to her place. I swear I didn't do anything else, then I came back, that night is when you told me who she was. I kinda,  sorta snuck out of the bungalow to go meet her in town the night before we left, after you guys were asleep. We spent several hours talking, I held her hand and kissed her goodnight,  but it went no further,  I promise."  
  
"Hmm, so you know this is a promise bracelet? Given to one to be held in trust. By accepting it from her,  you signified your willingness to wait for her,  to marry her when she is ready. If the feelings you have for her changes you must return this bracelet, BEFORE you move on. And must explain to her and her parents or in this case Sanca,  why you are returning it. The same goes for her,  if her feelings for you changes, she must ask for the bracelet back and tell me why she is rejecting you. You do understand now that you accepted this bracelet,  there is no sex for you,  not until you either return it or marry her. If you break the promise to her, by screwing around, I will give you such a beat down you would wish you never would have gone to that island."  
  
"I know what it means, I know it gives us both time to think things through and to get to know each other. After this mess with the Dalatrass is over,  I want to go back and spend some time there getting to know her and her brother better. I know I won't be able to spend too much time,  not until they come up with a cure or something to help. But Sanca can keep an eye on my lungs."  
  
"You'll need to go elsewhere during the rainy season, and no trying to get in her pants before you're married." She saw him nod at her and then stare down at the bracelet.  
  
Shepard sighed and grabbed his left hand,  slipping the bracelet around his wrist then tying the thin straps together. "Don't take it off,  Kolyat. Not unless you mean to return it." After she was done,  she kissed his cheek,  hugged him then turned to leave the room,  hearing him already connecting to Sina to tell her. She warned him to let Sina know not to give anyone the comm codes and to encrypt it as she went out the door.  
  


* * *

  
  
Feron found her face first into the pillow in her room, at first he thought something was wrong with her,  then she finally rolled over and told him her son was engaged,  well almost engaged, he promised himself to one of the village girls.  
  
"This means I have to start making the beads for his wedding necklace,  then the ones for his children. God,  I'm getting old."


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will be the last chapter posted for a bit, I'm still going to work on it. It will not be abandoned. Just need a bit of time :)
> 
> Thanks to everyone that is still reading, commenting and liking the story.

* * *

 

They saw Kolyat off the next morning,  his new guards were escorting him and Mr Squeakers to an apartment nearer to a hub, he told them he didn't care much anymore. As long as he had communications access. Shepard shook her head told him to be careful and she would call him soon.  
  
She called Sanca on the island and they talked about the new developments with their family members. Sanca assured her that he had spoken to Sina, and that he to would be put out should she disrespect Kolyat in anyway. She gave him contact information to several doctors that had the details of Kepral's and also the mailing address so he could sign up for updates on the progress of the Salarians that were currently hard at work on finding a cure.  
  
Shepard and Feron spent the rest of that day locked with Liara in her quarters,  going over all the intel they had gathered. She had received word that Bailey had located one of the people that had been helping Tevos,  she had been arrested and is awaiting trial. No word on Valern's accomplices but they probably were smart enough to have fled the Citadel or not been on the Citadel at all.  
  
Feron was standing in front of the holo board staring at all of the info his eyes moving back and forth."How did they know all these places had labs that would serve their needs? Most of these places I wouldn't have known about or thought of. Take that station for instance. That one was associated with building mechs,  but they were using it as a medical facility,  how did they know it had a lab in it?"  
  
"When we had to file the reports on all the casualties, the rooms and the number of bodies were recorded." Shepard straightened up from where she was bent down looking over a row of datapads. "What do you see, Feron?"  
  
"The Dalatrass is using places that she knew she had access to labs already,  it would cut costs,  they were out of the way and shut down because of Spectre authority. YOUR Spectre authority. Every single one of these places except for the warehouse on Juhxi were ones you filed reports for, the other one was from a Spectre you took down. This is centered around you. You took down Saren,  you went after all these guys either on Alliance or Council request, filing reports on them all. All of these places you have been too." Feron's eyes continued to run over all of the data on the screens. "Amaranthine, no stated lab,  but it was out of the way. The building already there and empty. Since it was listed as a smugglers hideout she knew there would be storage rooms. Again cutting costs."  
  
"I am the one that brought the Krogan and Turian's together, I'm the one that allowed the cure to be made and given. She was furious when I backed the cure,  when I turned down her offer if I would have let the cure be destroyed. Then to turn around and have a ton of Salarian aid given to me anyway,  along with most of their Spectre's joining up,  not to mention the STG. It had to have urked her. But to the point of doing this? When she knew that the Council, if they found out about it,  would persecute her anyway?"  
  
"Not if she turned out to be right about the Krogans, Shepard. If it wasn't for Wrex and Bakara keeping the Krogans focused on rebuilding and not on revenge, all it would take is one incident to rile up the Krogans. Then she could say, "I was right, we need to stop this." Then conveniently have a new and improved version of the genophage within a few weeks or months." Liara was leaning back in her chair, turning it side to side with her feet.  
  
"How long will it take for you to compile a list of everywhere I investigated from the time I became Spectre until the war was over,  then cross reference with any mention of medical labs on the premises. Look for ones in remote locations,  where they could smuggle drugged Krogan to the facility and not attract attention."  
  
Liara thought for a second, " it's going to take a while, even on the first Normandy we went on so many assignments. I can discard any that were done as personal missions,  none of them had been reported. As far as ones when you weren't officially Alliance, may be a bit more difficult as you didn't file actual reports with the Council. I can contact EDI for a listing of those. Then I have the places we went after the Reaper attacks."  
  
"We could just give the info to EDI and have her do it in minutes." Feron said to them. Shepard shook her head, "no, if we did she would be under obligation to involve the Alliance. I don't want them sniffing around. This is a Council matter. But since those files concerning the year and a half I was only a Spectre,  she can give to us without needing to report it."  
  
"Once I get that intel from her then I can go through put it all together,  remove what needs to be removed and flag the places we are already aware of. I can then send you a listing of what is left." Liara told them as she started typing into her terminal, already starting to work on it.  
  
"Ok, I have several of those missions still left to do for you. Hopefully I can get those squared away by the time you give me that list." Shepard stood and stretched, noticing the look that had come into Feron's eyes.  
  
They left Liara to her work,  and before they got halfway down her hall, Feron stopped her, looked around then dragged her down a different hall,  through several rooms and up a set of stairs. He glanced around one more time before shoving her through a door into what Shepard now seen was a storage room.  
  
"Feron, what the hell are you ...",  she didn't get to finish her tirade as Feron just grabbed her and pushed her against one of the crates,  his mouth on hers. His hands were working furiously to unbutton,  unsnap,  unbuckle both of their clothes, hers soon joined in. She felt his fingers running along her folds,  pushing deep,  thrusting rapidly in her.  
  
"Touch me, please." He groaned out as her hands moved from his shoulders down his chest,  one traced the pattern along his hip with the other grasped his cock,  stroking from base to tip. His whole body shuddered as he threw back his head at the sensation of her hands on him. She had rarely touched him this way,  it was always him doing to the touching. He was memorizing,  savoring her hands on him.  She ran her tongue along one of the stripes angling from his shoulder to right above his pectoral muscle,  her eyes shot up to his face when he cried out at the sheer pleasure it brought him. His whole body was a huge mass of nerves all registering pleasure,  he was starting to feel sensory overload and had almost climaxed in her hand. He had to stop her. Whimpering he held her hand to him, halting the sliding motion she was doing against him.  
  
He placed her hand on his shoulder then lifted her against the crate, his tongue pushing into her mouth at the same time his cock pushed into her body. He gave another shuddering sigh then started to move inside her, she ran her tongue along his ribbing causing him to tighten his grip on her thigh, and thrust harder in her. Her hands were restless,  sliding over his body,  her mouth followed. The more she licked or dug her nails in, the faster and harder he would move. Shepard started to suck on his neck right below the ribbing causing him to cry out and thrust into her hard enough to rock the crate,  the second she bit down,  he exploded in her.   
  
He buried his head in her neck and tried to calm his breathing,  he was still ejaculating inside of her. "Don't move,  please don't move,  it will be too much." She felt his body shaking from the strain of holding her.  
  
"Feron,  you need to put me down,  you're still not fully recovered from what happened yet." She heard him mumble no,  not yet. Finally she felt him take a shallow breath and lower her legs carefully to the floor after he withdrew from her. He barely let her feet touch the ground before he was kissing her again. After he broke the kiss he hugged her to him and buried his head once more in her neck. She wrapped her arms around him, "are you ok?"  
  
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I was selfish,  your touch, when you licked and bit me ... I couldn't hold out for you." She felt him shaking against her.  
  
"Hey, it's alright,  I enjoyed it, your reactions when I ran my tongue across your scales brought me pleasure too." She whispered to him. "Come on, let's get dressed before some poor sap comes wondering in here and sees us naked and up to no good in one of the Broker's store rooms." She felt him give a slight laugh.  
  


* * *

  
  
They left the next afternoon after Liara was finally able to get in touch with EDI,  apparently they were on some sort of stealth mission and the CO gave orders that no communications were to be sent out or received. Liara told Shepard that Joker was doing nothing but complaining the entire time,  he wasn't able to download any more porn for almost two whole months.  
  
Their days were spent going to missions, loading up crates or off loading them. Going from location to location waiting for Liara to contact them. But the nights, Feron thought he had died and gone to Kalahira's shores. After he finally told her why he reacted the way he did, Shepard realized it was true,  she would take from him the pleasure he would give,  but she had stopped giving to him in return,  she started to touch him more. Waking him up in the morning with running her tongue along his stripes,  her hands skimming over his body. He would jerk and moan, several times his hand would go to her head, threading his hand in her hair. She knew what he wanted but wasn't yet ready for that intimacy.  She was honest with herself when she thought about it,  she had no idea how she would go about taking him that way,  his size was intimidating,  she wasn't a pro at it, and she doubted her ability to bring him much pleasure from it.  
  
They had finished the last job and headed back to base, on the way she checked in with all the Spectres,  not a single one had any new information or leads. The Dalatrass seemed to have dropped off the radar. When they arrived at the base, she asked to use Liara's secure comm and when given permission she dropped off her duffle,  changed into more comfortable clothing then headed to Liara's office. After locking the door she sat in the chair,  bringing up Wrex on the line.  
  
"Wrex,  anything suspicious going on? We can't find the Dalatrass, I have almost 40 Spectres,  the Shadow Broker and the God's only know how many agents,  and we can't find the bitch." Shepard propped her feet up on Liara's desk, her bear paw slippers wiggling as she moved her feet distractedly.  
  
"Nothing new here, Shep. All of my people sent out the warnings, no one sent out an emergency signal and all flights on and off of Tuchanka are checked and monitored. What are you going to do now?"  
  
"I honestly don't know Wrex,  we are compiling a list of possible locations. If that turns up nothing, I just don't know. I'm trying Wrex." Shepard tipped her chair back a frown on her face,  she hated failing her friends and family.  
  
"We know Shepard. The Ambassador already sent the broadcasts of what happened to the two Councillors, though it wasn't the Dalatrass,  my people have seen that you are honoring your promise. On top of that they are seeing that others are helping you as well. Liara also sent updates to keep us informed. Don't worry sis,  just do what you can. If I hear anything I'll contact you. Nice slippers." Wrex laughed then cut the comm.  
  


* * *

  
  
"What do you think, Liara? Do you think it's to soon to ask her marry me?" Feron asked her, Liara was currently perched on one of the chairs in Feron's room while watching him pace the small confines.  
  
"You love her right?" Liara asked him, watching as he halted and turned to her, "I have loved her this entire time, Liara."  
  
"Has she told you how she feels about you yet?" Liara started swinging her leg as she waited for his answer.  
  
"No. I haven't asked her either. She tensed up the last time I told her I loved her,  then just pretended she didn't hear me. She thought she had distracted me. But that's been a while now, quite a few things have changed. I want to marry her, Liara. I want to be her family, maybe have kids later." He didn't see Liara's foot jerk to a stop or the look that came into her eyes,  quickly masked before he turned toward her.  
  
"The only thing I can suggest is you tell her you love her then ask her. She may need time to think about it."  
  
"Yeah,  the worst she could say is no." He dropped down on his bed, "has there been any news?" Liara shook her head then stood up.  
  
Shepard came through the door,  Feron saw the slippers on her feet, a sound between a laughter and a snort came from him. She shuffled over,  punched him on the arm then dropped on the bed beside him. "I just got off the comm with Wrex,  he's got nothing. There hasn't been any activity on Tuchanka, and he says for now the Krogan are satisfied. He'll contact us if he hears or finds anything. What about you, anything yet?"  
  
"Not yet, I have the list compiling and cross referencing, you know, I didn't realize we went to so many places. Not to mention yours during that Collector mission. It's a lot of locations."  
  
"Yeah and if it turns out to be a wild goose chase,  a lot of lost time. She's had prior notice and a long time to pack up and rethink where to go to. Not to mention help in hiding." She laid back on the bed and started yawning.  
  
Liara walked to the door, "I'll let you know when it's done compiling, I see you later." She mouthed, "tell her" to Feron and left.  
  


* * *

  
Feron got up,  nervously paced then put his gear away. Stripped from his leathers and put on a pair of sweat pants." I'll be back I need a shower." He ran out the door before she could say anything.  
  
When he came back she was asleep on his bed,  one of her slippers had come off and had fallen to the floor. She was also hugging the other pillow and had a death grip on it from the way it looked. He rubbed his head, shrugged his shoulders,  then decided to give it a try. Moving to the end of the bed,  he carefully and very slowly made his way up behind her, pausing if she moved or if the bed shook to much. Once he settled behind her, he moved her hair away from her ear. Activated his omni tool to record the next few minutes.  
  
"Shepard, you know I love you,  right." He whispered in her ear,  his dual voices were low and soothing,  a humming buzz coming from his chest.  
  
A sigh, "mmm hmm," she hugged the pillow a bit tighter, another sigh and he waited until she drifted a bit deeper back in sleep. He slipped his hand between the pillow and her arm, she sighed again when his hand came to rest on her breast,  his fingers rolling and plucking at the hardening nipple,"does this feel good?"  
  
"Mm,  yeah." A slight groan came out from her when he gave it a very light twist.  "Do you want more?" Another sigh and groan along with a yeah escaped her.  
  
The buzzing intensified, he licked his lips, closed his eyes. He lightly kissed her temple then whispered in her ear, his voices still holding the same low tones they did before, "will you marry me?"  
  
She rubbed her face into the pillow, "mmm hmm."  He kissed her temple, " you promise?"  
  
She frowned a little, he plucked her nipple until she groaned, "do you promise? Say it."  
  
"Promise."  
  
His hand cupped her breast and rolled it in his palm. "We can start planning our wedding after we wake up, okay?" He whispered to her, still massaging her breast. She let out a light snore after murmuring "okay." He fiddled with his omni tool then snuggled up against her falling asleep almost immediately.  
  
He awoke when he felt the pillow slam against his head, "what the hell are you doing?"  
  
"You son of a bitch,  it wasn't a dream was it." She hit him again with the pillow.  He raised his arm to protect his head when she reared back to smack him again.  
  
"Stop hitting me with the damn pillow." Feron yelled at her. She bared her teeth at him and WHACK WHACK WHACK,  rapid fire smacking commenced.  
  
He grabbed the pillow and tugged hard pulling her off balance. She landed face first on the bed and he quickly straddled her pining her arms up above her head."What the hell was that all about?"  
  
"You damn well know. I received a fucking message a few minutes ago,  care to hear it." She growled at him.  
  
"A message?" After the threw the pillows into the corner he let go of her arms,  she shook her wrist and activated the omni tool, when the holo pad appeared she scrolled to her messages and hit play on the newest one received. The recording he made played loud and clear and he groaned. He must have hit the wrong buttons, sending it to her.  
  
He checked his own omni tool, " oh shit..." He quickly shut his omni tool off and scrambled off the bed, dressing as fast as he could. She watched him panicking.  
  
"What the hell do you mean by, oh shit?" He froze,  swallowed and looked at her. "That message,  it wasn't meant to be sent. It was just for me. Ok, not just for me, I was going to use it as leverage in case you balked. It's what I do, stop looking at me that way." He slid his legs into his pants almost falling from trying to put both legs in at once.  
  
"Keep going." She rolled to her side and watched as he fumbled with the closures having to redo them several times until they lined up right.  
  
"Instead of hitting save ... I hit send. It was sent to you... along with Liara," he grabbed his coat putting the arm in the wrong sleeve, " and Kolyat. He said he was on the way here to kill me."  
  
She watched as he grabbed some clothes trying to jam them in his duffle, hangers and all. "So you're running?"    He twitched,  " yeah,  get dressed,  grab some clothes and let's get the hell out of here before ..."  
  
"FERON! You open this Goddess damned door this second." Liara was screaming into the doors intercom.  
  
"Fuck," Feron was looking around as if to try and find a hiding spot in the tiny room, a series of hums,  buzzes and even a slight whistle was heard by Shepard as she watched him.  
  
He heard Glyph outside the door talking to the Broker while it hacked the security code to the door. Feron backed himself into a corner,  the look on his face was priceless so Shepard snapped a holo just as Liara came charging through the now open door.  
  
Shepard propped herself up on her one arm and started recording the action, after Liara had come storming in,  she hit Feron with a stasis field and lifted him off the ground.  
  
"When I told you to talk to Shepard and ask her to marry you I didn't mean for you to trick her using those hypnotic tones. What the hell were you thinking? Were you going to blackmail her, force her to marry you? I am so disgusted right now, I should have Javik shoot you out of the airlock!" Liara released the field and Feron fell to the floor, landing with a grunt.  
  
Feron got shakily to his feet, "wasn't going to blackmail her. I love her. Guilt trip her maybe, if she tried to back out, when we woke up and I brought it up. I didn't think it would actually work on her,  didn't work before when I tried it." He brushed off his clothes and straightened his jacket.  
  
"You tried that shit on me before?" Shepard sat up and crossed her arms staring at him.  
  
He cleared his throat, "it was years ago. I was trying to gain your attention, get you to notice me. I even tried sending different vocalizations to you,  letting you know I was interested, available, that I loved you. All of them were ignored, so I didn't think it would really work. But since it did, how about we get to planning that wedding now."  
  
Shepard threw her other slipper at him,  hitting him square in the face.  
  


* * *

  
  
After Liara calmed down she told them Kolyat had tried to steal the ship to get back here but one of the guards stopped him, they didn't hurt him, she was quick to assure Shepard. He had apparently been yelling about killing Feron the whole time.   
  
Shepard went to Liara's room and called Kolyat,  sat through a 15 minute tirade from him about Feron. Then told him she will take care of it. She asked how it was going with Sina,  that was all it took to get his mind off of Feron. They spent another half an hour with her listening to him going on and on about Sina,  her gardens,  her fruit stand. All of this Shepard already knew about,  but she let him talk anyway.  
  
"When Liara is finished with the new list,  I'll be heading back out so won't be able to contact you as often. If something comes up let the guards know and also contact Liara. I better go now, love ya." They said their goodbyes then disconnected. Shepard took a deep breath and headed out into the ship to find Feron.  
  


* * *

  
  
Feron was pacing,  rubbing his head,  cursing to himself in a small storage room that looked like no one had been in it for years. The floor was covered in dust,  there were large tarps over all the crates that also had a layer of dust on it. The only fairly clean area was the line where he had been pacing for the last 20 minutes.  
  
Shepard had to ask Glyph to locate Feron after wondering around looking for him,  apparently he had been wondering all over the ship as he was spotted in several different hallways.  
  
Shepard finally found the storeroom that was the last known whereabouts of Feron, she entered and followed the footprints in the dust around the corner and seen him banging his head into the dusty tarp of a crate.  
  
"Liara really needs to get a cleaning crew into some of these storerooms." She said quietly,  the sudden sound of another voice caused him to jump and turn around swiftly.  
  
"A lot..." he sneezed then coughed from the dust that was coating his clothes and face, " a lot of this junk came from the old Broker's ship.  Liara had started moving things out of that one almost right after she took over." He brushed away some of the dust leaving his clothing looking streaky, " after the war she moved it back and probably forgot it's even here."  
  
"Feron,  we need to talk about that stunt you pulled earlier." Shepard said as she shifted to lean back on one foot.  
  
"I know I shouldn't have done it,  it seemed like a good idea at the time. I know we haven't talked about it, and I guess I should have done some research on how humans do it, but I don't want to be without you. When you left me,  I was ... hell I don't know what I was other then completely lost. Then those women,  yammering at me about hurrying up and marrying you, not to let you get away from me. And that God's damned male that sent you that fucking flower."   
  
He leaned back against the crate not caring that the back of his jacket was getting as filthy as the front, "I thought, if it worked and I could get you to promise then everything would be ok. You always keep your promises. Then once we were married I could," he shrugged, "maybe find a way to get you to love me too." His voice had tapered off and he was looking down at the floor as he was trying to explain it.  
  
"Feron,  tricking me is not the way to go about getting me to fall in love,  it's almost a sure fire way of pissing me off though. It's going to take time."  
  
"Shepard we've been together for a long time now, months and months,  don't you feel something for me?  Other then maybe lust or desire, something more? Or is that all you want from me? Someone to have sex with without getting your emotions involved. I love you,  I love you more then anything,  but ... I don't think I would be able to handle that."  
  
"Feron, maybe that first drunken encounter was just pure lust without emotions, I don't know. But it is more then just desire, I do care for you. If I didn't you wouldn't be on my ship no matter how manipulative Liara tried to be. Yes, I know Liara manipulated me to get you on the ship and why. I figured that out a very long time ago. But Feron listen, what I feel for you, I just can't call it love yet."  
  
He dropped his head and gave a brief nod. She sighed then watched as he dug into one of his inner pockets pulling something out. He held out his hand and opened it,  laying in his palm was a gold wrapped candy. "Forgive me for tricking you?"  
  
She approached him, placing her hands on his waist, "I forgive you,  just don't do it again.  I mean it Feron. This childish shit has to stop,  I won't tell you again,  this stunt is the very last straw. Do something like this again, and I will leave you here. I won't come back. Do you understand? I can never come to love some one I can't fully trust."   
  
A lone tear tracked down his face, "I'm sorry. I understand... I don't know what would happen..." Shepard sighed, "Feron,  there comes a point were no matter how much I cared for you, the possessiveness,  this bullshit ... will become to much. I will not deal with it,  I have been tolerant but no longer. Too much is at stake here."  
  
She backed away from him,  his hand still outstretched with that peace offering. She turned and walked away,  not seeing the candy fall to the floor.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still working on this, not abandoning. 
> 
> The next couple of chapters will take a while for me to upload, they are being completely rewritten. Hopefully this will tide you over.

* * *

 

 

Feron and Shepard spent the night apart,  Feron sitting in the cafeteria alone. The next morning Shepard found him asleep there,  his head pillowed on his arms, a small holo of them that had been taken on the island, clutched in his hand.  
  
He came awake at the stroke of her hand along his crown ridge. He looked up at her,  twisting in his seat so he could wrap his arms around her waist bringing her closer. "I'm so sorry." He whispered to her. She continued to stroke his head. "I know, Feron, I know."  
  


* * *

  
  
Several more days passed before Liara finally had everything ready for them to go over. It took longer because of adding in the details of labs and large storage areas,  then came the discussion about which ones would have the possibility of being left intact,  between Shepard's penchant for blowing things up if it was needed and the Reapers path of destruction. When they had finally finished with the most likely targets they contacted the other Spectres.  
  
Shepard split them up,  sending the ones she had done on the first Normandy for the Alliance to Alenko to check out. The others were split evenly for all the Spectres,  since there were so many she notified them that each would need to work independently. She did however group them so they were never far from each other and could be ready to help if any signs were detected.  
  
She looked over her list. Feros, Nodacrux. A Cerberus station on the planet Aite, she remembered that nightmare of a place,  a ton of labs along with equipment was there already, along with several other places all connected to there. That complex was huge, she may need help with that one just to even go through it, otherwise she would be there for weeks on her own.  
  
She contacted Tytus and Stone told them about the complex and would send a signal to them when she was ready to go to it. She would need their help. They sent back their acknowledgement.  
  
She went back to the list, Gellix,  freezing cold nightmare of a place,  but thanks to those Ex-Cerberus scientists that Jacob had been "guarding" that place had labs and tech already there.  
  
She stared at the last two places on her list, Horizon and Cronos Station. Both nightmares also, horrific events took place there. And not just because of the Reapers,  the experiments on unsuspecting people, perpetrated on them by Cerberus. Cronos Station, the base of the now dead Illusive Man. Where they tested Reaper Tech on soldiers,  where they were trying to find ways of controlling Reapers, and where she finally was able to get revenge for the murder of her husband.  
  
"Shepard,  maybe it would be better for one of the other Spectres to handle the Cronos Station." Liara said quietly to her bringing Shepard back to the present and out of her memories.  
  
"Hmm, what? Oh, no Liara. It will be fine." Shepard told her a weak smile on her face. She got up from the chair and carried the datapad with her out of the room, Feron and Liara looking at her as she went.  
  
"What was that all about?" Feron asked Liara. She rubbed her scalp crests,  another habit picked up from Shepard, then sat in her chair and told Feron the story about Thane's death and how finally months afterward was able to exact her revenge on the one that murdered him. After she told him of the horrific things they found had been done on the station and exactly what Shepard had done to Kai Leng, Feron got up from his chair and went in search of Shepard.  
  
He found her in the forward data room where he usually did all his work, terminals and data storage banks were everywhere,  the vid room was there. He finally found her along the one area of the hull that had a viewing shutter. It was raised and she was looking out at the planet they were currently orbiting around. She glanced up as he approached her,  he seen the sadness in her eyes.  
  
Moving behind her,  he wrapped her in his arms,  pulling her back against him and rested his chin on her head. He started to make low humming sounds, a very light musical trill. "When we go there,  I shall go in with you. You will not be alone to face the memories of that place."  
  
"I already placed a call to Alenko,  he will be there also,  he and Liara were the ones that went with me and EDI into that place. That whole station was one big nightmare. We hit it right before we went to take back Earth, the Illusive Man was already gone from there. But we found logs of what they were doing,  clear back to when they were trying to resurrect me. EDI was "born" in that place. She was the rogue VI that I had shut down on Luna." She moved her hands up and caressed his forearms where they were still crossed over her chest.  
  
"We'll head out day after tomorrow, the ship is restocked and the H-Fuel cells recharged. Liara will handle coordinating the intel and messages between the Spectres." Feron kissed her head and turned her around with a smirk on his face, "come on,  I know just the thing to cheer you up,  get your mind away from the memories."  
  
He pulled her over to the vid room, shutting and locking the door behind him. She raised her eyebrow at him and he kissed her quickly before turning to the vid panel, after inputting codes into it,  he stepped back pulling Shepard to the small couch that was moved in there after she started working as a Spectre again.  
  
The series of vids that popped up were ones that showed embarrassing moments of many of the people she knew, Councillor Sparatus getting chewed out and slapped by his wife after she found out about his Asari mistress, Bailey getting drunk and singing in the C-Sec locker room. There was one of Etarn doing one of his sales pitches, jumping up cracking an unsuspecting human in the chin with his crest, because the human was dumb enough to try and peek over the top of counter at what he was doing. Many more were shown until Shepard finally had to stop them because her stomach was hurting from laughing so hard.  
  
"Thank you, Feron." She smiled at him, then kissed him before straddling his lap. She raised her eyebrow at him and he fiddled with his omni tool,  glancing up to make sure the tiny light that was showing the location of the camera had gone out.   
  
He tugged the hem of her shirt up and pulled it off, leaving her in a red lacy bra, "mmm, I like this one a lot." He murmured to her as he kissed her one breast while fondling the other one. His tongue moved over the lace covered nipple bringing it to a hard peak, at her groan he reached behind her and undid the hook and eye closures. Sliding the straps down her shoulders and uncovering her delectable breasts to both his gaze and mouth. Her hands stroked his ribbing,  frills and along the sides and back of his head as he plied his tongue and mouth to her. Her moans filled the air as he ran his hands from her shoulders,  down her back to cup her ass, grinding her against him.  
  
"Do you have any idea of the amount of fantasies I thought of, that I wanted to play out with you in this room? How hard it was for me when you came to visit, being in this room, so close to where I was. How much I wanted to just lock the door, kiss you, then bend you over the railing,  fucking you from behind while the vids play. Throwing you on the couch, lifting your legs over my shoulders and burying my face into your hot center. Then fucking you,  having you screaming my name so loud it would echo over all the ship. Everyone would know you were mine."  
  
Shepard was panting and working her hands over the various closures of his jacket and vest. "Then let's get started bringing those fantasies to life." She smirked at him before standing up and stripping off her pants, showing him the very tiny scrap of red satin and lace that she was wearing. He let out a feral growl as he lunged up from the couch,  driving her back against the wall pinning her there with his mouth on hers as he shed his jacket and vest.  
  
She watched as he dropped to his knees in front of her, kissing her stomach,  over the indent of her belly button. He slid his hands under the strings of the fabric keeping him from reaching his destination,  and pulled. Both strings gave way with a tearing sound and that red scrap fell to the floor. She barely had time to gasp as he lifted her leg draping it over his shoulder,  his tongue and fingers of one hand already on her,  in her. Her hands were on his head as he used his mouth to send waves of pleasure up her spine,  when her orgasm rushed over her, she screamed his name, jerking her hips into his mouth.  
  
He stood quickly,  his mouth and chin glistening in the lights of the room from the fluids that he had coaxed from her body. He grabbed her hands dragging them to his hard cock and the closures of his pants, "undo them. Now." He growled at her, grabbing her hair and tipping her head back,  kissing her roughly as she did as he commanded. When she had the closures open he held one of her hands to him, "stroke me, Shep. Long,  hard strokes." He dropped his head back as she started to kiss and lick his chest while her hand worked him. The growls and hums from him started to get louder. She felt his hand tighten in her hair and closed her eyes. She turned him around and pushed him against the hull,  still licking him,  running her teeth and tongue along his shoulder and neck. She heard him start to pant as she slowly ran her tongue down his chest to his abs,  tracing the defined muscles there, feeling them quiver under her mouth.  
  
He let out a whimper and flexed his fingers as she started going lower,  her hand on him slowing becoming gentler as she dropped to her knees in front of him. Her hands pushed his pants down and he looked down at her as she steadied him while he stepped out of both his boots and pants. She ran her hands up his calves across his thighs. She felt him tense up as she looked up into his face before reaching for his cock again, he swallowed hard as he watched her lick her lips. Blinking rapidly as she moved closer to him. His whole body shaking with anticipation of what she was going to do. Then he felt the first long swipe of her tongue on him and he forgot to breathe as he watched and felt her tongue each of the ridges on this cock. A long low growl emitted from him,  she glanced up into his eyes and seen how wide they were,  how focused on what she was doing. As she licked her way across the narrow head stopping to slide her tongue along the indent there where a slight amount of precum slowly started to drip down, he gasped and let out a groan. He started to pant and flex his hand as she worked her way back down the other side,  giving each ridge the same attention as before.  
  
She heard the whimper coming from him again as she teased him by slowly drawing her tongue up the side, "tell me what you want me to do, Feron." She said softly,  her warm breath washing over his twitching cock.   
  
He swallowed then blinked, "o ... open your mouth. Close your lips around me. Do... do it. Now." She slid her lips down over him and his world exploded around him. The heat and wetness of her mouth as she took him inside had him whimpering,  the suction she used to draw him in as deep as she could take him had him groaning. He watched her as long as he could, seen his cock disappearing into the scalding cavern of her mouth, felt her lips tight around him. He turned into a shuddering mess, his subvocals going haywire,  hums, trills and buzzes were heard. His whole body was vibrating. When she started to move her head,  he felt her tongue moving against his ridges he let out a loud low groan, which turned into a "fuck,  fuck,  fuck" as she slid her mouth back down over him taking him even deeper.  He felt himself hit the back of her throat as she started to move faster on him. Her hands slid around him, grabbing his ass,  pulling him into her further. He jerked and felt himself slide down her throat a bit,  the tightness had him calling out her name. She glanced up at him, withdrew some then pulled him into her again.  
  
He swallowed then slowly flexed his hips,  sliding out and then back in, short tentative thrusts that had his mouth open on a gasp. When he finally started to move with more fluid long strokes,  she let out a groan,  which sent a shiver up his spine. It also brought him close to his climax, he let out a hiss, "Shep, I can't hold...." He thrust into her mouth as far as he could,  she groaned again and he threw his head back letting out a roar. His hands fisted tightly in her hair holding her to him, as he emptied himself into her mouth.  
  
When he felt her push him slightly he looked down,  then slowly withdrew, releasing her hair and slumping back against the hull of the ship. His legs were so weak he ended up sliding down the wall, landing beside her in a heap of boneless flesh. He watched as her tongue peeked from the corner of her mouth,  slipping out to gather a tiny amount of leaked cum,  then sliding back in,  making him groan again. He held out a hand to her and she moved closer. He pulled her into his arms and held onto her,  his body still shaking,  his heart racing.  
  
She kissed his forehead then used a finger to circle around on his chest where if he was Human,  his nipple would be. "Feron, I think everyone on this ship now knows you belong to me. Actually I think they heard you in the next system over." He let out a gruff laugh,  his voice hoarse from his shout.  
  


* * *

  
  
That night everyone was sitting at the mess table when all of a sudden Javik came storming into the room,  just seeing him was a rare occurrence.  He was heading straight for their table,  his armor making clicking noises as he stomped toward them. He stopped when he reached them,  his yellow eyes glaring in Feron's direction. He threw something red on the table as he was yelling, "I am tired of this primitive and the Commander mating and then leaving these things all over the ship. The vid chamber needs to be decontaminated. If this doesn't stop I am throwing them both out of the airlock." Then he stormed back the way he came, everyone turned from watching him to see what it was that he tossed on the table.  
  
Shepard had her head in her hands,  her shoulders shaking. No one was quite sure if she was laughing or if she was so mad it was giving her the shakes. Feron reached out,  picked up the torn panties, twirling them around then tucked them into his pocket as if nothing was wrong, then went back to going over the datapad and eating his dinner.  
  


* * *

  
  
Feros was their first stop,  the settlement had been abandoned during the war,  Shiala and the others came to help with the fight.  Their time exposed to the Thorian creature left them with the ability to sense what the others were needing,  feeling. Unfortunately none of them but Shiala was a trained combatant. They did well as long as they remained in orbit,  lending assistance. But they had insisted on being part of the ground team on Earth. None of them survived, from the reports when they found Shiala,  she had taken out 2 banshees, several Brutes and husks before becoming overwhelmed.  
  
She eased her way through the corridors,  around the containers that were used as housing, everything was empty, and had been for a very long time. She opened the underground tunnel and carefully looked around. Still nothing not even rodents. It was actually starting to give her the creeps. "Legion, I'm heading back to the ship, can you move the transport to the beginning of the skyway shortly before dawn,  so we can get over to the Exo Geni building first thing in the morning."  
  
"Affirmative."  
  
When she made it back to the ship,  she locked it all down and set up the warning protocols. "This place is freaking me out again. Nothing but dead silence this time. Hell, not even the varrens are here,  something has wiped everything out." She slept fitfully that night,  waking at every little noise.   
  
"Hey, are you alright?" Feron asked after she jerked and woke him up again. "Yeah,  this whole place just freaks me out. The sooner I finish up the investigation and get the hell off this planet the better." She said to him as she stroked his arm where it laid across her waist. He pulled her back into him,  an erection starting to stir against her ass, " I can help take your mind off of it for a bit." He nuzzled her hair and ground against her, his cock sliding between her cheeks. She let out a small moan, as he kept thrusting against her. His fingers had just started to circle her clit,  then thrust once deep inside when the alarm blared.  
  
"Shepard,  sensors are picking up an organic life form at the colony buildings. Statistics are a match for a Krogan. Vitals are weak." Shepard was already up and running toward the shuttle bay, she slipped into her underarmor and hardsuit as fast as she could. Feron met her at the doors with her weapons in his hands, "grab the med packs and come with me,  they have a small facility there." Feron ran and grabbed both bags then tore off after her down the shuttle bay ramp.  
  
They found the small Krogan collapsed near the outer part of the colony,  he didn't look like an adult, a very young male,  a teenager or younger maybe. He was in bad shape,  his hump was very small. Shepard knew he was starving,  their humps acted like nutrient reserves,  storing needed calories and fat deposits in them to draw on if they needed to be without food for a short period of time. "Shit, Feron help me get him to that long building,  then run back to the ship,  we need as much food as you can carry, make several trips."  
  
After they dragged the Krogan into the facility and laid him on one of the medical beds, Legion walked her through starting up the scanners. He hacked them, started the diagnostics and the VI for treatment. "Legion, get me online with Wrex and tell him its a medical emergency,  let him know what we found. I don't know what the hell to do, the little one is starving." Feron came tearing back into the building, his arms loaded with a crate of food from the cargo bay.   
  
"Feron,  there is a panel near the entrance, it has been shut down. If you enter the starting sequence I can get water to this facility." Legion said to him over the comm,  Feron took a breath then ran back out the way he came, followed the directions and Legion had water running with in a few minutes. Feron spotted an old pallet mover tucked behind some broken crates,  he hoped it still worked. After running the scanner over it and getting info from Legion on how to fix the loose wiring,  he started it up then dragged it behind him,  returning several minutes later with all the food they had, except for what was in the dispensers.  
  
After parking the mover outside the door to the medical building he collapsed in a heap on the other medical table taking in giant gasping breaths. Shepard in the meantime was ripping open storage panels and searching in all the crates and carts looking for anything that was still usable. She grabbed one of the filter bottles that was still sealed and filled it from the water sink after letting the water run for a few minutes.   
  
Wrex finally came on the line, there was a female beside him, "Shep, this is Urdnot Gataku,  she will try and walk you through what needs to be done. Legion will need to send her data constantly."  
  
"Alright Wrex,  but we don't have a lot of equipment,  just what I had on the ship." Shepard was frantically dumping stuff in a heap beside her.  
  
"Take a breath, Commander. The readouts are showing severe dehydration and malnourishment. His redundant systems are keeping him alive at this point,  but there is hope. Just relax,  that's it. Another deep breath." The calming and soothing voice of the female came over the line,  once more Shepard was astounded at how different the males and females of Krogan were. The female slowly walked her through hooking up the saline IV that she had in her bag,  it wasn't easy,  she had to get the needle up under the Krogan's thick plating and into the vein. They cut away the rags he was covered in. Wrex frowned at the amount of scarring on the young whelp.  
  
"Shep,  this is a young child. No more then 10 years old. Where the hell did you find him?"  
  
"Shit, Wrex. We're on Feros. I scouted the main colony earlier,  then the fucking area we killed the Thorian in. There was nothing here,  not even those damn wild varren. Was heading over to the skywalk after dawn,  but the sensors went off. I don't know where the hell he came from. I looked Wrex,  I did."   
  
Shepard was wiping at her face, and Feron got up, "shh, it will be ok," he took a second to wrap her in a hug. Then kissed her forehead,  he went from room to room opening everything and returning a few minutes later with some sheets and towels,  they were a bit musty smelling but they had no other choice.   
  
"Commander,  you need to try and squeeze some of those food rations into his mouth,  if you can hit the back of his throat he will automatically swallow. Just don't go putting your hand in there, he may bite you in reflex." The rest of the night cycle was spent squeezing out food tubes,  dripping water into his mouth and waiting. When she was told the young male had shown signs of improvement she let out a breath.  
  
"Feron,  stay here. I'm going to head over to the Exo Geni building,  if he had somehow escaped and made it over here there may be more. I have to go look.' He nodded told her to be careful, then took over her chair where she had been sitting trying to get some of the worst of the grime off of the child.  
  


* * *

  
  
The night had just begun when Shepard came back, Legion moved the transport back into the ship. She had a haunted look in her red rimmed eyes. "Legion,  patch me through to Wrex."  
  
Wrex answered immediately and knew something was wrong as soon as he saw her face. "Tell me Shepard."  
  
"There were at least 100, Wrex. Males, Females and children. It - it looked like an entire clan. So many babies. The cages were full, most of the bodies were mutilated. Babies in those fucking lab jars. It looked like they had been dead for awhile,  maybe 6 or 7 months. There was one cage with a busted lock, and what looked like varren corpses. I'm thinking the kid found a way to bust the lock,  maybe a rock or he was able to get his hands on something. When the varren ran out, he ran out of food. I'm notifying the Council to come in and do a full investigation, they will take care of the bodies and return them to Tuchanka. Maybe you can figure out the clan or where they all came from. Feron and I will bring the kid to Tuchanka,  you can take care of him better then I could here."  
  
Wrex studied her a minute, "alright, Shepard. As soon as the team arrives head here, I will have them restock your supplies. Are you sure you want to bring him here? You have space on your ship if you want to keep him with you." His growly voice dropped into a lower volume then his normal loud boom. She glanced around and seen Feron outside of the unit,  rooting through the food packs.  
  
"No Wrex,  he will need to be with Krogan. I'm in the middle of this investigation, I can't have a child on board."  
  
"Hmm. Alright then, Gataku will take him in,  hopefully he will have information I can pass on when he gets better. If you change your mind about him,  just let me know." She nodded to him and looked over at the sleeping form on the bed,  then disconnected the call.  
  
The call she placed to the Council was quick and precise,  sending the video feed she took from her hard suit's camera,  and requesting a team to come to do a full investigation since Feros was in Council space and not in the Terminus. She told them of a lone survivor, a child of approximately 10 years old that will be taken for proper care on Tuchanka. The Council told her that they had a team already scrambling and will arrive on Feros in 36 hours.  
  


* * *

  
  
The Krogan woke up several hours later,  growling at the two other occupants in the room. Shepard told him who they were then had Legion connect to Wrex, the child seemed to respond to both Wrex and Gataku and calmed down. He didn't really have many answers other then to tell them his name was Mekar Kerm, and that his clan was not known on Tuchanka. Shepard kept handing him food packets and refilling his water until he said he had enough. After disconnecting with Wrex he looked at both of them then fell back to sleep.  
  
After the team arrived she showed them what she found and then helped Kerm to make his way to their ship, Feron pulling what was left of their food on the pallet mover. They settled him into the other bunk room and Feron set their course for Tuchanka.  
  


* * *

  
  
When their ship landed the three of them came out,  2 large Urdnot guards were waiting for them and took them to see Wrex.  They had just introduced Wrex to Kerm when Shepard heard, "BATTLEMASTER!",  shouted from her left. She turned and seen a giant Krogan in silver armor charging her.  
  
"Fuck, move it, Feron." She pushed him out of the way, then set her feet to meet the charge head on,  with a grunt,  a crash of ablative armor plating, a "heh, heh,  heh" from the Krogan, now flat on his ass in the Tuchanka dirt,  her Krogan "son" welcomed her back to the clan.  
  
"There's my boy, now that's what I call a welcome." Shepard boomed out in a loud voice worthy of a Krogan. "Heh,  heh,  heh,  how long can you stay, Mother?"  
  
"Not long, Grunt. I came by to bring a young whelp I found badly injured, his whole clan was killed by weaklings except for him. He managed to bust out of a cage,  kill wild varren by hand,  and survive for months alone. He'll be worthy to be brought into the Urdnot Clan after his Rite." She was telling him this as she was brushing the dust from his armor. She reached into her pack and brought out some wet wipes and was wiping his face off while he was trying to brush her hand away to look at the kid. She grabbed him by the chin, "hold still,  let me get this dirt off you." She went back to scrubbing. "Mother!"  
  
Feron stood there with his mouth wide open as he watched her manhandle a 500 pound killing machine as if he was a toddler.  
  
Grunt seemed to notice him then, and sniffed the air. "Is that my new Father? He doesn't look as strong as other one. Can he take down a Thresher Maw like Dad could? Is Kolyat here too?"  
  
Feron straightened. _Thresher maw? Thane took down a Thresher Maw?_   
  
"No sweetie, he isn't your Father. He is my mate though,  that is why you smell him on me. His name is Feron,  he was the one we helped Liara rescue from the Shadow Broker. Kolyat isn't here right now. He does however have a prospective mate, what about you? Will I have grandchildren soon?"   
  
Grunt blinked then gave a grin, "heh,  heh,  heh. I remember seeing the vid of that fight. He hurt Dad,  and you killed him."  He squirmed a bit under her stare, "several females are fertile, I have breeding requests with two of them. None of the other females had clutches with whelps born that resembled me at all. This next time though, maybe." She smiled at him and gave him a firm nod. His attention was once again on the younger Krogan.  
  
"Grunt,  take Kerm to Urdnot Gataku,  while I finish my talks with Shepard."  
  
He waited until the others left,  then Shepard went over every detail of what she found, answering all of his questions. He grunted then sat back on his "throne". "Must have been one of the outcast clans. There were rumors of ones that were hidden in amongst the old ruins. They were mainly left alone,  killing them wouldn't get you higher on the chain,  no honor in it. Looked like they had a few fertile females though. We'll keep him here,  train him up."  
  
He stood up and walked down the steps leading them to a rather grand tent like structure. "Bakara,  we got company."  
  
Bakara was tending to several eggs that were in a large nest like structure. She looked up, her eyes crinkling in the corners, "Commander,  it is good to see you again."  
  
"Bakara, it is good to see you as well, this is your new clutch?" Shepard smiled at her and shook the hand that was held out to her. "Yes, Commander. They are due to hatch in the next few months,  this will be our last clutch for 10 years. We are keeping them here while the construction is still going on,  once the rebuilding is done we can finally move to our new homes. One of the smaller clans is already hard at work restoring the ruins that you had found,  once we can propagate those plants maybe we can once again have a lush green world."  
  
"I certainly hope so Bakara,  all of you are working hard. How are the other clans dealing with the breeding restrictions?" Shepard looked down and picked up the 3 year old that had been banging on her leg armor. "Some didn't like the idea of controlled growth, those were the ones still clamoring for blood. They were soon brought under control by the females." Bakara reached over and pried the child's teeth off of Shepard's shoulder guard,  giving him what looked like a metal bar to chew on instead.  
  
They stayed and talked for a while longer before Shepard told them they had to leave, she wanted to check in on Kerm and Grunt once more. "Shepard,  remember when you're ready, come on back." Wrex said to her, as she handed over the child to his father. She gave him a weak smile and told them all goodbye. Feron looked between her and Wrex before following her out of the tent.  
  


* * *

  
  
"Our next stop is Nodacrux. Make sure you have your breather on. The pollen there is lethal. Beautiful world, but between the lethal pollen and giant insects it isn't worth living on. We'll head straight to the Exo Geni facility there. Even though you'll remain on board,  stay armed. The last time I was here the place was being over run with Thorian Creepers thanks to Exo Geni."  
  
"Thorian Creepers? What the hell is a Thorian Creeper?" Feron said from the pilots seat. She reached down and used the terminal in front of her to bring up some old recordings of when she first encountered them. He watched as the shambling humanoid things stood up and attacked, spitting venom and hitting at the teams. "They were ... organic things controlled by the Thorian, a giant sentient plant we found on Feros. Exo geni thought it was a good idea to send "samples" to other places. The planet we are going to is one of them. They also send quite a few of them along with Rachni to Cerberus."  
  
Feron landed the ship a ways away from the structure, Legion scanned while Feron suited up and put on a breather. Shepard blinked a few times then looked away,  fighting back the memories of Thane again. When Legion said all was clear, she boarded the transport and headed toward the structure. "Any signs of life inside the structure?"  
  
"Negative, Shepard."  
  
She got out, the structure's door was open,  whether from a hasty exit or from where they had left it open all those years ago she wasn't sure. "Entering the structure now." She went in moving slowly from room to room,  past overturned crates and dust laden equipment,  there were no human foot prints,  she recognized the prints from a Space Cow herd that must have gotten curious but even those were old.  
  
There was no power to any of the terminals, from the looks of it this place stayed abandoned after she killed the creepers and the Doctor that was in charge here when they tried to attack her and her crew when she told them they were being arrested. "This place is clear, nothing here,  heading back."  
  
Once she was back on board and he had lifted off she sat at the mess table going over reports from the other Spectres. A few had found remains of Krogan, even older then the ones she had on Feros. Most however were either empty and had been for a very long time or they were nothing more then sampling labs that had their databanks wiped.  
  
Feron came out of the facilities and sat across from her. "Where are we headed next?" She finished up the return message sending it off before answering him. "A place called Gellix. Between the time I turned myself in to the Alliance and when the Reaper war started, a bunch of Cerberus scientists broke off from them and ran. Instead of going into hiding like any normal person would, they took off with their families and their research crap,  built a station and continued working. The idiots didn't have a clue. One of my ex crew was hired to guard them," she let out a snort, "this same person once told Thane he didn't like assassins because they were hired mercenaries,  just more precise ones. Then he turns around and hires himself out. When my Comm Specialist notified me of the situation we went in, cleaned up the mess. That bastard had the nerve to tell me that the Normandy was my true love, this was about a month after Thane had been killed. If it wasn't for Garrus and James I would have ripped that bastards head right off and spit down his neck. Instead we took out Cerberus and got them out of there." She took a drink of her water,  replaced the cap and sat it down on the table.  
  
"The place is big,  really big. You will need to stay on board the ship, Feron. It's also freezing cold. I'll keep in touch on the comms." He frowned at her,  if it was a big facility he should go with her and he told her so. She just shook her head. "Too dangerous, I know how you Drell are when you get cold. You get drowsy and all you want to do is sleep." He stared at her with his arms crossed over his chest. She quirked her eyebrow at him. "You're going to be a problem aren't you."  
  
"If it's as big as you say it is you shouldn't be going in alone."  
  
She tapped her fingers on the table. "The shuttle hanger they had was big enough for several shuttles,  the ship should actually fit inside. IF there is no one already there. If it is empty Legion should be able to swing around to the back of the facility and bring us into the bay. You will remain inside the ship until after I scout ahead far enough to tell whether or not it is safe. This is all contingent of course if the place isn't already occupied,  they had anti air guns the last time we were there and one was still working after a Cerberus kamikaze took the other one out."  
  
"Alright, but if that hanger is full,  we figure out something else, I don't want you going in alone." She quirked an eyebrow at him again and frowned. "Don't give me that look,  I know this is what you do, Shep. But the Dalatrass must be getting extremely nervous by now,  and we know she has got at least a few STG trained people working with her." He got up and went to her side of the table pulling her up, "now come on, I can think of better ways to spend the next 5 hours then arguing." He kissed her then picked her up tossing her over his shoulder and headed for their quarters.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, sorry for the long wait on a new chapter. This needs a warning posted as does the following chapter so here it is.
> 
> I wrote the next 2 chapters, then deleted and rewrote them again. Then did it again. 
> 
> These next chapters were difficult, and needs trigger warnings. Here they are. If any of the following are triggers for you then **do not read this chapter and the one that follows.** Leave a comment and I will give you a sanitized synopsis.
> 
> Triggers:
> 
> Assault, sexual abuse, rape, attempted rape of a minor.
> 
> Please note, while my smut scenes can get pretty graphic, I Do Not get graphic with the above. But it is an integral part of the chapters. If you feel more trigger warnings should be posted then please leave me a comment, I will add them.
> 
> It is what it is, like it or hate it.

* * *

 

Gellix was as cold and unwelcoming as she remembered. Legion had ran a scan before they came within range of those anti air guns and told her they were not functional any longer, they approached cautiously anyway, watching for ground movements on the scanners. Visually nothing could be seen because of the blowing snow. They made a pass in front of the building,  she saw the shuttle hanger's doors were closed. "Legion move away from the facility,  those doors shouldn't be closed,  they were left open when the last of the shuttles came out and we jumped on."  
  
Legion moved them away landing several klicks away. He started to run scans but between the weather and the interference from the building itself it was hard to tell what was going on.  
  
"Alright,  let me think." She paced in the confines of the aisle between the seats and mess hall several times, "Feron, grab some supplies and emergency heat packs along with the solar blankets, just in case. Load them into a backpack. We'll leave the ship here and go on the transport around the rest of the building. Find the hanger door and get it open. Legion can bring the ship in if it's empty then. But that door being closed means either Cerberus husks stayed and then shut the door after they left, which I highly doubt,  or someone came in after them."

 

* * *

  
  
Legion constantly ran scans as they approached the building, he could detect no heat signatures around the outside. When they made it to the back of the hanger bay,  there was no visible signs of any craft or vehicle having come through recently. But then again with all the blowing snow it would have been hard to tell anyway.  
  
Shepard got out and approached the door, attaching the thin cables from her tool to the override box next to the hanger door. She was feeling the cold even in her protected hardsuit and wished like hell they could have taken the time to look for power generators so she could have used the wireless connection to make it go faster but she didn't want to waste that kind of time. Feron had been acting drowsy after they had left the ship, the transport wasn't designed with more then low level heating and cooling system as normally her suit did that for her. She ran the manual hack app, punching in the override code,  her omni tool was providing the isolated system with just enough power to get the door to open. Once it had opened wide enough for Legion to get the transport inside she unhooked it and slipped under it,  just before the weight of the door brought it back down with a clang.  
  
The only light in the hanger was coming from Legion and the window up near the ceiling, from what she could tell the hanger itself was empty. Shepard looked around, there were no crates, no parts, it looked like the place had been stripped clean of anything usable. "Legion can you access any information about where the power generator may be,  if there is even one. It looks like this place was hit by salvagers."  
  
"Tracing power conduits." Legions voice said,  Shepard continued to look around the hanger. The place was eerily quiet except for the near non existent hum of the transport engine. "Uploading coordinates for junction box and generator to your HUD."  
  
She drew her rifle then followed the directions,  listening intently, there were no sounds. She went to the generator, it was intact but turned off. So she carefully turned it back on,  still ready in case it was some type of trap. When nothing but the normal start up procedures happened she let out a breath and went back to the junction box, turning on the ones listed for necessary life support. Heat, air ventilation and exchange, decontamination. The terminal closest to her hummed to life and she had Legion hack it to run a full scan of the building looking for any signs of life then a full decon run. The ambient temps were beginning to raise, once the decon was done Feron would be able to come out of the transport,  she would have to get him warmed up and quickly.  
  
She remember there was a sort of med bay in the one room off of the control room so ran up the stairs everything was gone,  no equipment anywhere. Not even a scrap of paper blowing in the slight breeze from the warm air that was starting to circulate in the building.  
  
"Legion as soon as you can,  bring the ship in. This place has been stripped clean." She started to open up the doors on the cabinets looking for any missed blankets or heating packs. Nothing. Whoever had been here was very thorough.  
  
She jogged down to the transport, went inside to get Feron up and moving into the warmer building. Grabbing the pack as she went, she put her arm around him hauling him up. He was almost dead weight , his body shaking,  his ribbing was closed tighter then normal. "This is why I wanted you to stay on the damn ship you hard headed bastard. First you dehydrate yourself and overheat,  now you're about freeze and go into brumation." She dragged him up the one set of stairs and into a small room with a terminal in it then closed the door.  Sitting him in the corner closest to the vent she opened the pack, brought out the emergency blankets and warmers.  
  
She wrapped him up in two of the blankets then tucked in a couple of the warmers after she activated them. She walked over to the terminal and started the hack program looking for any footage or details of what happened after they had rescued the scientists and got the hell off of the planet. The security footage showed the Cerberus husks working at one of the terminals,  then seemed to have received a message. The logs showed a download of files,  but they were corrupted by a viral program that Dr Cole or one of her associates had put into the system and activated prior to them running for the shuttles.  
  
She activated the last security log and watched as a ship full of Eclipse mercs descended on the place, the Salarian in charge seemed to be shouting orders and pointing as they swarmed like ants,  taking everything and loading it into crates,  moving it into a transport shuttle. They ran those shuttles like cattle cars,  as soon as one got full it took off and another one was loaded up.  
  
"Well guess we know where those mercs got that equipment for the Dalatrass all those months ago." She muttered to herself. She heard a groan from the lump of Drell in the corner and went over to him, squatting in front of him.  
  
"What the fuck happened, where are we?" He said,  his eyes barely open and he was still shivering. "We are still at Gellix, I warned you about the the cold. Maybe one of these damn times you'll listen to me. We'll stay here overnight, I'll finish looking around while you get your bearings, this place has been emptied out by mercs. When you get warmed up enough,  get back to the hanger, back on board the damn ship and wait there and no damn back talk this time."  
  
She stood up and made her way out of the small room. Going room to room looking for anything that was missed no matter how small and finding nothing. At one point she glanced out the window and seen Feron wrapped in both blankets,  the back pack banging along his leg as he carried it toward the ship. She grinned and shook her head. Then went back to work, the back area where the pipes were came next, she didn't expect to find anything but went through it anyway.  
  
Several hours later she returned to the ship and was blasted with temps hot enough to feel like she was cooking alive. "For fuck sakes, Legion what the hell is up with the heat in here." She quickly stripped from her armor,  sweat already starting to run down her body in rivulets. "Feron asked me to raise the temperature,  several times,  this was the setting he stopped complaining at."  
  
"God,  turn it down to the normal temp please." Shepard wiped the perspiration off her brow and walked to the main part of the ship. The door to the quarters was closed so that was more then likely where he was at the moment. She heard the hiss of the air exchange and cooler air started to slowly filter into the ship. She took a quick shower then went into the cabin. Feron's clothes were scattered on the floor, his body under all of the covers including both of the emergency blankets.  
  
"Hey,  you alive under there or did you turn yourself into a fully cooked burrito by having the heat all the way up." Shepard poked him.  
  
"I'm alive,  still fucking cold." Came the mumbled response. "And what the hell is a burrito?" Shepard started to laugh then told him,  he only pulled the covers closer and grunted. She let him be a grumpy pants and went out to the mess. Grabbed a water and ration pack then went up to the bridge.  
  
"Liara, Gellix is clear. Those Eclipse mercs you had me hack for you got all that equipment from here,  they cleaned the place out completely." She sent a recording from the security log to her. "Any news from the other Spectres?"  
  
"Nothing really that matters,  a few places cleared and that question is now answered, the same mercs probably were hired to salvage them when this first started." Liara leaned back in her chair a bit, "how are you and Feron doing? It's been a rough couple of months." Shepard let out a snort, "rough,  isn't quite a word that covers it all Liara. So many damn ups and downs." She let out a sigh. "He deserves someone that loves him unconditionally. I'm still not sure I can do that, and it would be so unfair to him. He's still acting like a child sometimes and it's driving me nuts."  
  
"Shepard,  you know he won't love anyone else. Not while you live,  you know how they are. He will never leave you Shepard, and it will kill him if you left him. Those few days were horrifying, if you should leave him for good ..." Liara watched as Shepard scrubbed a hand down her face. "What are you saying Liara? That I should just give in, marry him and hope for the best? I don't know if I can do that. Frankly, if he does something like that hypnotic voice stunt again, I won't be sticking around. I warned him about doing something like that again and it will be over. Liara, when they marry they marry for life. You know this."    
  
"I know Shepard. But I honestly think it is because of him worrying that someone else will come along and take you away from him. He has been so lost in you for years and unable to act on it."  
  
Liara propped her feet up on her desk and Shepard grinned as she seen the blue mouse slippers that were on her feet, "you already live together, Shepard, for all intent and purposes. You enjoy sex with him?" Shepard quirked an eyebrow, glanced around to make sure Feron was nowhere nearby, " yeah I do, Liara. So much that at times it frightens me,  it had been years since I was able to let myself go completely."  
  
"Then for Goddess sake, marry him. Other then legal changes it will be no different then what you are doing now. Living,  working and having sex together. It may not be what you had with Thane, but it wouldn't be that bad would it? Just think about it."  
  
Shepard rubbed the bridge of her nose, "alright, I'll think on it. In the meantime I need a break,  the three big locations are coming up and there won't be any downtime until I get those finished. Feron needs someplace really warm and dry. Preferably with something fun going on for the both of us to enjoy. Can you do a quick check to see what is going on and get back to me by tomorrow morning. We're staying here for the night." Shepard let out a huge yawn then disconnected the call.  
  
Tossing her trash into the recycle unit as she passed by it she made her way back to her cabin,  Feron was still bundled up in the blankets. She took the emergency blankets off and folded them up, he started to grumble almost right away,  she only gave a light laugh. She took pity on him,  removed her clothes before setting the normal VI options then turned off the lights,  raised the covers just enough to slip into the bed. She barely had her head touch the pillow before he had grabbed her and pulled her up against him, his body curling around hers tightly. He sighed and nuzzled her as he started to absorb her body heat.

 

* * *

  
  
Shepard's omni tool buzzed the next morning, waking her up and she opened it to see a message from Liara outlining a festival going on in what use to be Mexico before they merged with the rest of North America in the United North American States, if she was interested she could book a 3 day stay.  
  
_**S:** Let me wake up sleeping beauty here and talk it over with him. I'll get back to you in about an hour._  
_**L:** Okay,  the sooner the better. I will need for him to do a small job while he is there though if you take it. A pickup from one of his old contacts. Have him message me after you guys talk._  
_**S:** Alright._  
  
*Call Disconnected*  
  
Shepard looked at Feron,  he was still fast asleep,  a light trilling snore issuing from him. She quirked her eyebrow then slowly scooted down the bed under the sheet. Her head came even with his groin,  his member at rest,  well for now anyway. She breathed warm air against him, she heard a sigh and a slight snort,  but he settled back down.  
  
She slowly dragged her tongue along his soft cock,  watching as it twitched then rapidly start to harden as he groaned. She quickly straddled him,  rubbing against him as he panted,  coming awake as she gripped him and started to lower herself down on him.  
  
She was incredibly tight around him,  his hands gripping her waist and the hiss leaving his hips was harsher then usual. He grew thicker inside of her as she started moving, grinding down on him before raising up,  hovering for a second before lowering herself with a twist of her hips. "Shep, God's woman,  you're killing me here." He growled out as she slowly raised up then back down. She gave him a wicked grin and quickened her pace,  his back arching as he dug his head into the pillow.  Her skin started to glisten with perspiration as she rode him, his hands sliding up to cup her breasts,  pinching and rolling her nipples.  
  
He moved his hands back down to her waist,  held her tight down on him then rolled them over. Hands gripping her thighs,  he pushed her knees up to her chest, hooking her legs on his shoulders. Leaning in harder on her,  his hips ground into her. His lips met hers as he started to thrust into her. His possession of her becoming rougher as her groans became harsh. "Damn it, Shep ... you've got to ..." he hissed as his pace faltered. He stopped and pushed in deep,  his teeth gritting as he tried to push his orgasm back, she tightened her inner muscles squeezing him and it pushed him over the edge. He let out a gasp as his cock throbbed and he released in her.  
  
"God's damn it!" He buried his head into her shoulder. She felt him hit the mattress beside her head in his frustration. "Hey, hey it's fine." She was rubbing his shoulders and back, caressing his head. "No,  it is not fine. What the hell is wrong with me that I can't hold on long enough to satisfy my woman?" He carefully withdrew from her. Kissed her forehead then rolled over,  sitting on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands. She shifted to her knees and wrapped her arms around him.  
  
Kissing him between the shoulder blades and on the side of his neck, before she whispered to him. "How about a very short holiday for just you and me. No work, well almost no work, no Kolyat. I can wait 3 days before heading to Aite. That will give Tytus and Stone time to finish up their part of the mission before joining us there. If you agree then we can head there right away,  Liara will book us a 3 day stay in a nice, warm place and we can have a bit of fun. After you do a small job for her."  
  
"Job,  what kind of job?" He was still sitting there covering his eyes. "Not sure,  she said something about one of your old contacts. You'll need to ask her about it. So are you interested or would you rather we head straight to Aite?"  
  
"No Kolyat?" He uncovered his eyes and turned his head a bit. "Nope,  no Kolyat. Just you,  me and a festival. But, listen. If we take this small holiday now, there won't be any down time until we clear out the rest of the places. I mean it Feron. Just quick refuel and restock stops. No overnights. No whining, no bitching, no complaining about wanting to go somewhere or that I am not spending enough time with you."  
  
"Okay,  but can we at least ... can we talk about marriage? I want to be your husband,  not just your mate. Damn it, Shep. This is killing me." She closed her eyes and stroked his head, "this is really important to you isn't it?"  
  
"Goddess, Shep. You're everything to me. I would give up working for Liara, hell I would turn into that housekeeping father person in that damn vid we watched the other night if it meant I would be your husband, not just a lover. Shit, and right now I've not been a good one at that. So yes, Shepard,  it is important to me. You're important to me. And it kills me not knowing if I'm important to you. It ... it hurts." His voiced cracked and he closed his eyes, turning his head from her.  
  
"Alright,  we'll talk about it after we get there." She put her hand on his chin and turned his head back to her,  his eyes were glistening with unshed tears. "Feron,  you are important to me. Not just as a lover, but you are my friend,  a confidant. You may test my patience with your behaviour sometimes, but I do care for you. I am trying. My heart ... my heart still yearns for Thane. But a part of it also belongs to you. It may not be the same as what I felt for him,  it may not be what you want from me,  but right now ...  right now it is the best I can give to you."  
  
He stared at her for a minute then nodded, "it's something at least. More then what I probably deserve,  acting the way I have. I just don't know what to do, Shepard. All the stuff I've looked up on the extranet has done nothing but dig me into a deeper hole with you. One I'm not sure I know how to get out of."  
  
"First thing you need to do is stop taking relationship advice from strangers on the extranet who have probably never had a girlfriend in their life. The second thing you need to do is contact Liara and let her know to book the room. I'm going in for a shower. When I'm done,  I'll shut down the generators and we can go."

* * *

  
  
"Liara,  Shep wants you to book the room,  wherever it is you guys were talking about, she also said you had a job for me. Fill me in." Feron said as he sat in pilot's chair looking out the window at the shuttle bay doors.  
  
Liara made the reservations then forwarded confirmation to his omni tool. " Your old contact, Kiava,  is on Earth. She said she had important information for the Broker but would only deal with you."  
  
Feron tapped his knuckles on the arm of the chair, "not so sure that's a good idea, Liara."  
  
"And why not? Her intel was usually shown to be good."  
  
"It also came with an additional price that I am no longer willing to pay. The last thing I need is to go pick up intel and have Shepard find out what I usually had to do in order to get it." Feron shifted in his chair and made sure Shepard wasn't anywhere near.  
  
"That was before Shepard,  before I became the Broker. You haven't had any dealings with her since then. What makes you think she would ask it of you?"  
  
"Every single damn time I had to collect intel from her or pass it on through her it was the same shit. Liara, that Asari won't take no for an answer and just give me the intel. This isn't a good idea."  
  
"And what if that intel she has gives us the clue we need to get the Dalatrass,  but you pass it up because you "think" she's going to demand to have sex with you." He closed his eyes and sighed. "Alright, I'll go talk to her,  but Liara if she so much as mentions it, grabs at me or tries anything else after I say no,  I'm walking away from it. She gets paid from you, not from me. Never again will I do that. If I lose Shep because of this..."  
  
"Agreed, Feron. That is something I wouldn't ever ask you to do,  not even if you weren't already involved with someone. I'll set the meeting in a public place. Once you have the intel transmit it, and let's hope it's the final piece we need to the puzzle."

* * *

  
  
"We need to make a quick stop at a place called New York City,  before going on that holiday. The contact I'm to meet is there." Feron told her after he had set a course for Earth. "Alright. That's only a few hours from our destination. I can ask for a temporary dock as Spectre business and you can grab a transport from the terminal."  
  
He started bouncing his leg and tapping on the arm of the chair."Spill it, what's wrong? What has you so nervous?"  
  
"I don't like meeting with this contact. It is a difficult one to deal with." She frowned at him. "Dangerous?"  
  
"No more then usual. Hasn't tried to kill me ...  yet. But Liara thinks she may have intel we need for this case. It's the only reason I agreed to meet her, otherwise I would have told Liara to find another person to go."  
  
"Want me to go with you?" His leg froze and his ribbing paled. "No."  
  
"Alright. We'll arrive in under 5 hours to the Sol system." She glanced at him again and could tell something was wrong.

* * *

  
  
Feron paced next to the airlock while Shepard finished her docking procedures. He felt like he was going to throw up, he didn't want to do this,  but he promised. One wrong word on her part and he would leave. That's it, if Liara didn't like it,  too damn bad.  
  
Feron caught the transport to the meeting place,  turned out to be a club packed with humans and a few asari. He passed by the strippers not even glancing up their way then walked to the bar. He scanned the room as he waited, taking in every exit,  every face. Ordered a drink then settled against the bar, he didn't have long to wait until he felt a hand drift down his arm. He looked over and jerked away from the asari standing next to him.  
  
"Hands off. Don't touch me. I'm here to pick up the intel you have for the Broker, nothing else."  
  
"Now don't be that way,  it's been years, Feron. You remember how this works. You get the intel after you pay me for it personally." Kiava stepped closer to him, once more placing her hands on him. "I said not to touch me." He shoved her hands away then started to walk toward the exit. The asari caught up to him in a few steps,  "alright, let's go to the alley out back. I'll give you the intel there."  
  
He rubbed the back of his neck, this wasn't feeling right. "Keep your hands off of me,  Kiava. I'm not interested in anything other then the intel the broker was told about. After I get that you'll get your payment from them."  
  
The asari shrugged, "whatever you say, Feron." He drew his brow ridges down,  this was too easy,  this wasn't like her at all. He cautiously followed her to the dingy alleyway, looking around ,  he seen a few crates and some rats poking around in the garbage. The smell of urine and vomit was almost overwhelming him,  the stench was so bad.  
  
"Now what is this intel?" Feron asked,  his arms crossed. He was trying to block the smell with one of his fingers under his nose.  
  
"Well,  about that. There is no intel. You see your dear Shadow Broker didn't realize that Tevos was my grandmother." All of a sudden from the shadows behind the crates rose two other asari,  armed with pistols and they were pointed straight at him. "Your precious Commander Shepard isn't here, Feron. What you do you think she would say if she found out you used to have to fuck some of your contacts in order to get intel? Do you think your mate would like to hear how you whored yourself out for the Broker?"  
  
"That was long ago. Before I met her. It wouldn't matter to her. She knows I love her and only want to be with her. When she finds out about this she will hunt you down." Feron was trying to think of a way out of this mess,  he had to get away from here and warn Shepard. He was going to kill Liara for not knowing about this. He started to back away from the asari,  one of them sent a shot into the wall to his right.  
  
"Oh, you won't be going anywhere, Drell." The one that shot at him growled out. He noticed both of them were wearing Eclipse uniforms. Kiava started laughing, "Feron, Feron. You are our bait. Of course she will come after you. Even if it is only to pretend to rescue her lover, and not just because she wants the information I supposedly have. Those disgusting Krogan mean more to her then what you ever will."  
  
"You're making an enemy of the Shadow Broker as well,  he won't appreciate you crossing him." Feron kept his eyes on Kiava, trying not to flinch when ever one of the others shifted their grip on their weapon. "Oh,  please,  spare me the shit, Feron. You're just another agent,  easily replaced." She walked closer to him, "now why don't you be a good boy and do as I say, hmm. I can play nice,  then afterward we can send this little vid to your Commander so she can see what you're really like."  
  
"No, I would rather you bitches just shot me and be done with it. You make me sick."  
  
Feron felt the impact of biotics on him,  doubling him over in agony,  then his spine snapping straight,  the pain was overwhelming and he screamed. When the pain lessened he collapsed to his knees in the dirty alley. "Now shall we try this again."  
  
"She...Shepard... is going to kill... you for that." Feron gasped out his whole body shaking,  racked by pain. All three of them laughed. "Shepard doesn't even know where you are. I knew you would never tell her, we've heard how you are afraid of losing her. So you cling to her like a baby does it's mother.  Nothing more then a scared little boy afraid someone else is going to take his place as the bitch's plaything." The two asari snickered. "Well,  little boy. Looks like you need to be taught a lesson."  
  
A breeze blew through the alley clearing the stench for a second,  the smell of spice came to his nose. _Stand firm, Siha is near._  
  
"I am not her plaything. When she finds you,  it will be you learning a lesson. She will never give up,  she will tear you apart." Feron screamed as another biotic attack hit him.  
  
_**THWAP** ... **THWAP** _ , came the sounds of something hitting flesh. Kiava turned and saw both of the other asari slowly collapsing with neat round bullet holes in  their heads. "What the Goddess ...?" She turned back around and saw Shepard land directly in front of her. Her eyes burning like red hot embers.  
  
"Feron, get up. Now. Get back to the ship. I will be there shortly."  
  
Feron crawled toward the wall, using it to lever himself upright,  he heard a grunt and a sound of someone being hit. He heard metal connect to flesh and looked up as Shepard brought her hand back and punched the asari in the face again,  her biotics useless until it had time to recharge. He turned his head and stumbled toward a skycar,  hearing the asari start to scream as the snap of bones echoed off the dirty walls.

* * *

  
  
Shepard entered her ship and headed toward the bridge, "Legion,  is Feron on board?"  
  
"Yes, Shepard."  
  
"New York Tower,  this is Spectre Shepard. Requesting immediate departure,  access code Zula Foxtrot 7 8 Tango." Shepard continued her preflight check, "departure granted. New York Tower out." She set the flight path for the small docking port closest to the town they would be staying in. Then headed for the cargo hold.  
  
Feron stumbled out of the facilities as he heard Shepard pass by the room. He stood in the doorway of the cargo bay and watched as she stripped off her armor,  the once gleaming black pieces now splattered with drying purple bloodstains.  
  
"Shepard..."  
  
"Not now, Feron. Go lay down and rest,  we'll talk after we get to the hotel. Right now I have other business to attend to." Shepard jammed the armor into the machine for cleaning and decon.  
  
"Shepard, did Feron get that intel?" Liara asked her before glancing up and seeing the burning red eyes staring back at her. "What happened? What's wrong?"  
  
"You failed to realize your contact was a set up. You failed to realized that she was Tevos's granddaughter. You failed to realize it was a trap that almost cost Feron his life. You are the Shadow Broker,  intel like that should not have gotten past you. You EVER fail him like that again,  and there will be a need to find the next Shadow Broker,  I promise you that. As it is,  that contact will no longer be available to you or to anyone as she is now dead in the dirty, piss soaked alley she had lured Feron into and attacked him in. All in order to draw me out."  
  
Liara started shaking,  she knew Shepard never made idle threats. She hadn't even thought about checking deeper into Kiava's background past the fact that her intel was good before.  
  
"Shepard,  I ..."  
  
*Call disconnected*


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If any of the following are triggers for you then do not read this chapter. Leave a comment and I will give you a sanitized synopsis.
> 
> Triggers:
> 
> Assault, sexual abuse, rape, attempted rape of a minor.
> 
> Please note, while my smut scenes can get pretty graphic, I Do Not get graphic with the above. But it is an integral part of the chapters. If you feel more trigger warnings should be posted then please leave me a comment, I will add them.
> 
> It is what it is, like it or hate it.

* * *

 

 

She found Feron curled in a ball facing the wall in their quarters. "We'll arrive at the skyport in about 2 hours. From there it's a ten minute shuttle ride to the hotel. I went ahead and cancelled the plans for tonight, it will give you time to rest and recover. I warned Liara this better never happen again, she better damn well take my warning to heart. I won't tolerate you hurt like that again. After we arrive and you have rested and ready to do so,  we will sit and talk. I'll listen to anything you want to say to me, Feron. If you decide you aren't yet ready, just let me know,  I'll wait."  
  
Shepard pulled a small duffel from the closet,  placing several changes of clothes in it before heading back to the bridge.

 

* * *

  
  
Feron hadn't said a word to her the entire way to the hotel. Just sat staring out the window of the hotel shuttle with his small duffel on his lap, his hands gripping the sides so tight his knuckles could be seen outlined through the silver of his flesh beneath his scales.  
  
Their room was large, the balcony faced the west,  with a perfect view of the setting sun. Feron paid no attention as he carefully made his way to the bedroom,  gently closing the door behind him. She let out a sigh, she knew he was hurting, and not just physically but mentally as well. His trust in Liara was shaken, his trust in her she was unsure about.  
  
She ordered room service, tapped on the bedroom door to let him know it was there,  then when he didn't appear she placed it in on the counter for him.  
  
She was on the balcony listening to the party goers down in the street.  The sun had set,  the day's heat was dissipating and the townspeople were coming out to start the festival.  
  
"Shepard?"  
  
"Come on out, Feron, it's a beautiful night." She told him her voice barely louder then the music playing from one end of the street. He lowered himself into the other chair and stared out over the small town, seeing the humans dancing in the street, their laughter filling the air.  
  
She didn't say anything just sat there and waited,  giving him the chance to decide if he wanted to talk or just sit.  
  
"How did you know where I was?" Feron's quiet voice came to her when there was a lull in the noise from below. "Legion. I use a tracking app for all my crew members on the Normandy, both of them. In case one of them got into trouble. Or in Jack's case if she started causing trouble. When you first came on board to be a crew member I had Legion hack your omni tool and install the program." She watched as several brightly colored balloons rose into the air, she heard the sound of a child's cry in the night. "When you were acting oddly,  I knew something was wrong. Had Legion put a trace on you and followed at a distance,  just in case. I'm sorry I didn't make it to you sooner."  
  
He was quiet for a while, the smell of cooking food started to waft up to him, the laughter and cries. The sounds of a shouting argument that died quickly. "How much did you hear?" He gripped the arms of the chair, dreading the answer but needing to know.  
  
"All of it,  from the time she first contacted you."  
  
His choked sob came to her as he bent double, the shame washing over him that she knew his darkest secret. The one he kept from everyone but Liara, she only knew because of files kept in the Shadow Broker's database. Ones that he erased as soon as he could sit for more then a few minutes at the terminal. She never questioned the missing intel. He left all of the pertinent data alone. Just removed his involvement from the files,  deleted the vids he had found that had made him sick to know that he was being watched as he debased himself just so he could get what the Broker wanted.  
  
He jumped up and ran inside,  she followed after him. Shepard leaned against the wall as he threw up in the bathroom. She waited until the sound of the decon system started before she opened to door. He had wedged himself between the tub and the toilet and was sitting there with his head on his drawn up knees,  his arms wrapped around them.  
  
She sat on the tiled floor across from him and waited. "I'm sorry,  I never wanted you to find out. Never wanted you to be ashamed to be with me. Never wanted you to leave me because of ... of me being a whore."  
  
"Feron, you aren't a whore,  stop calling yourself that. Right now." Shepard told him gruffly. " You did what you needed to do to get the job done. We both know what the consequences of failing the old broker entailed."  
  
"At first... I was so young... thought I was scoring big. Broker agent,  females wanted me. As I got older I finally realized what was going on and became disgusted,  kept telling them no. Some were okay with it, some ... were not. When I couldn't get their intel, the Broker made it known what would happen if I failed again. When Cerberus and Liara approached me to get your body back,  I jumped at the chance. I know Liara thinks I betrayed her,  but I had to be cautious,  I had to do it so that the Broker wouldn't think I was going to double cross him and keep me from going. Cerberus was a way out,  at least I thought it would be. Maybe ... I would have stayed with Liara,  been ok for a while. She was able to protect herself for 2 years,  until you came back. I wasn't so lucky. But when I saw you,  the things they did to me... melted away. When I recovered I destroyed the evidence of what I did,  what I had become. Liara didn't care, she knew."  
  
"Is that why you rarely ever left the ship?"  
  
"Yeah,  those six months when you were on Earth and she was on Mars was a nightmare. I pretty much took over the day to day handling of things, setting them up the way Liara had wanted before she had left. I stayed out of peoples way, became a personal errand runner for the broker... mostly to places I knew were just to drop off things not to get intel."  
  
"Is this why you...is this the reason why you are so adamant about not being apart from me? Are you that afraid I would turn against you? That if I knew about this I would stop caring?"  
  
"Partly. You're Commander Shepard,  first Human Spectre, Hero of the Citadel. Savior of the whole Goddess damned Galaxy ... and me?... I'm a nobody... a stupid drell that whored himself out to get intel. God's, when I felt the tide pulling me to you when I first saw you standing there, it was like a miracle. Then it was yanked out from under me, Thane had ..." He crossed his arms over his head. "Then there you were hurting and alone. I was ashamed at the attraction I felt, I wanted to throw you on the ground and make you mine,  to ... to fuck you so much you would forget him. I wanted you so much, but I loved you even more,  so I waited and prayed. The sadness I felt coming off of you, like the waves of the Oceans,  nearly drowned me."  
  
"Then when you took me as a lover, I wanted to do everything I could to get you addicted to being with me. I wanted you to want me always. I was hoping that whatever caused you to accept being with me would turn to love. A love so strong that if you ever found out about this... that it wouldn't matter. I pushed hard trying to get you to marry me. I knew once we were married I wouldn't lose you,  we marry for life and you knew it. Even if finding out shook the marriage, I wouldn't lose you, not completely. I could work at rebuilding,  proving to you that I wasn't like that anymore. Showing you that it was only you I wanted, only you I loved.  But now... shit. Everything is going to shit because Liara wouldn't take a few minutes to wonder why the hell that damned asari wouldn't talk to a different contact when she had done so for over 6 years. And why now,  how did she know we would be here on Earth... how did that fucking bitch know so much?"  
  
"I told Liara to look for a place for us for a few days,  she didn't say that she had a job for you. It wasn't until she contacted me the next morning that she told me she needed you to do the job,  and that she had found a spot for us. Now I'm wondering if she chose this place because of that asari contacting her, rather then a place for us to spend time together. With that asari knowing so much about how ... you don't want to be apart from me,  either she is spying on us on the ship somehow, which I highly doubt considering Legion wouldn't let that happen, or once again Liara has leaks. She is becoming lax or it's becoming too much for her to handle. Either way there is nothing more we can do now. The Broker has to clean up her own mess."  
  
"There is one thing I can tell you,  I don't know how much comfort it will bring to you. But you won't be bothered by that asari anymore, Feron. This doesn't change things between us. We all have things in our past that we wish we didn't do,  things we don't want others to know of. But it's not who you are now. The person that is sitting in front of me now is who matters, the old one is gone."  
  
Shepard groaned as she got up from the floor, "Feron, I'm getting to old to be sitting on cold, tile floors in the bathroom." She stretched, her back popped and she let out a sigh. "I noticed you had yet to eat,  come on." She held her hand out to him to help get him unstuck from the narrow space he had himself jammed into but he looked away from her hand and wiggled out to where he could stand on his own. "I'll be out in a minute." He told her as he brushed off his clothing.

* * *

  
  
He opened the box of now cold food and stared at it with a grimace on his face.  " You know, those smells coming up from the street vendors were pretty good,  want to go down and see what they have?"  
  
"Alright. Has to be better then cold ... whatever the hell this stuff is." He dumped the entire container in the recycle system and straightened his coat.  
  
The streets were packed, the locals and tourists were out in droves, brightly colored clothing  and smiling faces surrounded them. Feron felt like everyone was watching him,  as if they knew what he had done. It was impossible, he knew this,  but it didn't stop his mind from thinking it.  
  
They stopped at what seemed to be a popular food cart and looked over what was on offer, Shepard placed her order and Feron just told the lady to give him the same. Shepard raised an eyebrow at this and hoped to hell he could handle the peppers. She watched as the fresh fajita was made, the smell of peppers, onion and meat sizzling on a hot grill filled the air. The woman dished it up on warm flour tortillas and topped it with fresh lettuce, tomatoes,  cheese and more peppers.  
  
When Shepard handed the wrapped food to Feron he looked at it with a strange expression on his face. She shrugged at him then started to walk away the food in one hand taking bite size mouthfuls eating as she went. He followed her and took a large bite,  he immediately started choking on the spicy peppers. She dragged him over and pointed to a chair, he plopped down,  tears streaming down his face as she shook her head and got him a milkshake from the ice cream vendor.  
  
"Drink this,  it will help." She told him as she took another big bite of her own food and watched as he almost downed the shake in one huge gulp. "Holy hell,  what the hell is this? How can you eat this?" She grinned at him and ate another big bite.  
  
"It's a fajita and they're delicious. Next time pay attention when I say they have hot peppers in it. Just tell them no spicy peppers and they'll leave 'em out." She pointed to his food and he started eating again,  it was getting easier each time. She bought him several more shakes and dosed him with a stomach aid.  
  
"Just think,  it burns going in,  it blazes coming back out." She started laughing at the horrified expression on his face.  
  
He was starting to relax some noticing that she wasn't treating him any different then before. She dragged him to a street vendor selling cheap tourist trinkets and bought him some colorful wooden beads, draping them around his neck. "You doing better now?" She asked him as she adjusted his collar. He blinked and nodded. She gave him a smile,  linked their hands and they walked down the crowded streets stopping to watch performers here and there.  
  
A few hours later he was exhausted,  had an upset stomach but also had a feeling of peace and relief starting to wash over him. No longer having to worry about the secret he kept, worry about losing her to it, seeing her look at him with disgust on her face before she walked away from him was now no longer guiding his actions toward her.

* * *

  
  
"Shep... I'm dying. God's my stomach is on fire not to mention another part of me." He had locked himself in the bathroom for the past hour whining through the door at her while she worked hard at keeping the laughter out of her voice. "I'll call down to the front desk, see if they have a different stomach medicine."  
  
She waited until she got outside before laughing and she laughed the entire way down and back,  finally getting it out of her system.  
  
"Here take these." She found him curled up on the couch. She rubbed his head and arm. " We now know drell can not tolerate spicy peppers. So we will make sure not to order anything with them in it. Just lay there and rest for a bit."  
  
She thanked the God's above that they had upgraded bathrooms so the decon mist had cleaned the entire bathroom and deodorized it. Poor Feron, she let out one more snicker while getting her clothing from the bedroom before showering.  
  
He was asleep when she came back out. She took one of the light blankets from the closet and laid it over him before heading to bed.  
  
What was she going to do with him?  She had no idea what he had gone through. He really had been terrified that if she found out that she would leave just because of his past,  it had made him cling that much harder. It also made more sense about why he always wanted to know if she cared about him or if she was only wanting him for sex.

* * *

  
  
During the next day the streets weren't quite so busy,  it was hot and dusty. Feron loved it... Shepard hated it. They took the obligatory area tour with a bus load of other people,  all hot and sweaty,  staring at Feron wearing his leather clothes and not minding the heat at all.  
  
They all got off the bus and was listening to the tour guide, Shepard wasn't paying much attention until she heard a scream behind her and whirled around. There Feron was with a rattlesnake clutched firmly between his hands. "Fuck sakes,  Feron. That damn thing is venomous to humans,  where the hell did you get it and for Gods sake go put it back before it bites you."  
  
"I was looking around and seen it on the steps of the bus. What do you mean venomous? Like I am to you? Hallucinatory? Can we keep it?"  
  
"No Feron, as in, can kill us. The venom in it is toxic to humans. Now quit playing and go put it far away from us. And you better not get bit or I'll leave your damn ass behind as we run for the bus. And no we definitely can't keep it. One it's a wild animal,  two it can kill me, and three it would try to eat Mr Squeakers every chance it could get. Go.Put.It.Down.Now."  
  
Feron heaved out a sigh and carried the snake still rattling it tail frantically into the desert area, he lowered it to the ground and watched as it took off under the rock. The snake was too scared of Feron to even attempt to bite him,  or maybe it was because of Feron being cold blooded as well,  she didn't know and didn't care. If he did it again she would knock him out and leave him.  
  
She ran her omni tool over him to make sure he hadn't been bit. The tour guide used a portable medical device as well, it also removed any parasites or bacteria from him.  She and the tour guide stood there and explained about the snake and what they harbor, what they could do to a human. The tour guide brought up the files showing rattlesnake bites and Feron frowned.  
  
"Are all your ... snakes,  like that on Earth?" Feron asked them as they returned to the bus. The tour guide explained the difference between venomous and non venomous. How some snakes could be kept as pets,  how some were simply not. "So stop picking up things from the ground." Shepard told him as she slid into their seat.  
  
He was quiet most of the way back to town, "Shep,  can you get me one of those snakes?" Shepard jumped and looked at him, "no, Feron I can't."  
  
"Why not? That guide said some of them are nice and make good pets."  He stood up as they moved to get off the bus." A couple of reasons why. The Citadel doesn't allow them. Only tropical fish is what most of the people on the Citadel can have,  and also the occasional Space hamster. Not even being a Spectre could get them to let me bring one of those there. They eat rodents, mice,  rats that sort of thing. And Mr Squeakers is a rodent, it would be stressful for him and we would constantly have to worry about the snake escaping and eating him. That's not fair to a pet in any way. Before you ask,  no we couldn't just keep it on the ship. They need to be cared for, they are a living creature. Food,  shelter,  water and heat are just the basics. They need care and medical care as well. I doubt we could find a veterinarian off of Earth that could properly diagnose and treat any illness one of them should get."  
  
"What if... what if we moved here? I don't mean now. I mean... maybe..." he cleared his throat and they waited for the elevator to open back up.  
  
"I would have thought you would want to go back to work after this is all over with?" She opened their room door and turned to see him shaking his head."No,  no I don't think I will. Not after what happened. I - I think it's time I left all of that behind. I have enough bad memories,  enough reminders of what I did,  locked in my own head. I stayed working for Liara because I thought I could trust her, felt safer with her there as Shadow Broker. She didn't mind that I only wanted to run the database requests,  hunt for the leads and set up the contacts. I know every vid file location,  every scrape of data file codes and could bring them up in the blink of an eye. But after what happened. I am not sure I can fully trust her not to cut corners again."

  
  
That night's festival had started, and they went down to join the crowd watching dancers and acrobats. Then moved away from the overly crowded areas to ones that had couples walking around and guitarists working their way around small outdoor tables softly playing their music.  They ate dinner at one such restaurant, candlelight and soft music playing. Shepard kept seeing Feron glancing around looking at the human couples and watching their interactions.  
  
"Feron,  what are you thinking about?" Shepard asked him softly as they were once again alone walking down a path back towards the hotel,  the air hung heavy with the scent of the large white and purple flowers that seemed to be in profuse bloom along this one area of the town.  
  
"How happy those humans seemed to be together." He stopped and leaned back against the wall. "There was one couple eating at that same place." He closed his eyes and brought forth the memory.  
  
_She sits across the table from him, candlelight casting a soft glow over her features.Smiling. Happy._

_The male leans forward takes her hand in his and brings it to his mouth, he kisses the back of her hand and she laughs._

_He lets her go, his hand raising. Signaling something or someone._

_A male appears, instrument in hand and soft music starts to play._

_The male rises and then kneels on one knee, his hands taking the females in his own._

_He says something to her, bringing tears to her eyes. Sadness? No. Happy tears._

_Smile so brilliant. Her hands go to her mouth as he brings forth a box._

_He removes something, light reflecting off a stone in it._

_She nods, he slips it on her finger and she throws her arms around him. Smiling, crying, laughing. Happy._  
  
He blinked at her,  then pushed away from the wall. He started walking back to the hotel room a few steps in front of her with his head angled down, seemingly lost in thought.

* * *

  
  
Shepard jerked awake a few hours after they had gone to bed. She had tried to initiate intimacy between them,  he just kissed her forehead then told her no. He held her closely but made no move for anything else. She was alone in the bed,  heard no noises in the room and got up to find out where Feron was. She saw him out on the balcony sitting in one of the chairs just staring out over the town.  
  
She went out on the balcony and sat on the other chair. "Couldn't sleep?" He shifted in the chair a little, "no, not really. Can't seem to shut the bad memories off tonight in order to sleep."  
  
She nodded to him and drew up her legs under her, "I know the feeling in a way, been at that point several times myself."  
  
Feron got up and walked to the balcony,  looking down over it into the street below. "Shepard,  did you mean what you said earlier. That things hadn't changed?"  
  
She got up and walked to him,  wrapping her arms around him,  trying to impart some comfort. Laying her head in the small indent between his shoulder blades. "When I was 7 years old,  living with my Mother in dirty, crime ridden city here on Earth, I couldn't figure out where my Mother kept going every night. She would have one of the more paranoid of our neighbors keep an eye and ear on the hallway leading to our small room in a run down, apartment building. I remember the hallways being filled with trash, broken bottles,  needles and every night could hear the squeak of rats,  even over the loud arguments in the other apartments. I laid there night after night waiting for my mother to come home,  she usually wouldn't show up until sometime after I had fallen asleep."  
  
"I was only 7 but I knew other kids mothers didn't stay out all night,  looking like they hadn't slept at all. We had a little money, I thought she was working,  I had no real understanding of money then though. I knew she kept it in a small box, under a loose floorboard in the back of her closet. I would see her put it in there after she gave me a small bowl of cereal for breakfast." She rubbed her face against those cool scales of his back and sighed.  
  
"After about another year, I noticed a change in her. It wasn't all at once,  but looking back it was a gradual change. Less money being put in the box, her complexion turning pale, her body losing weight. She was still going out every night,  but more and more often would return covered in bruises, moving like she was in pain. There was rarely any food in the house now, that same neighbor would wait until I was almost past her door before she would open it up, and shove a piece of fruit or sometimes a ration bar out of the opening at me before shutting it,  the sound of what I thought at the time was a million locks sliding back into place."  
  
"One day I got sick in school, they tried to call my mom to come get me,  but the apartment manager," she let out a snort at this," manager,  what a joke, wasn't answering the phone. One of the teachers groused but dragged me home, almost literally, sneering at the building. Picking her way around the trash as if it would somehow sully her with the offense of being on the ground. I could hear the squeaking even during the day that time, the teacher left me at the bottom of the stairs and hurried from the building, muttering about the filth of the building including those that lived there. I could hear shouting from the top floor and recognized the manager as I worked my way up. I thought it odd because he never came up here, not to fix things, not to clean. Not even to change the damn bulb in the hallway when the Holo light bulbs would short out."  
  
"The shouts grew louder,  the sound of someone being hit repeatedly came to me as I trudged up those stairs. Then I heard my mother cry out in pain and I tried to run the rest of the way. I was halfway down the hallway toward our room when I seen the door hanging from it's hinges, the sound of the hits grew louder as did the managers yells. He broke into the apartment and was hurting my mom,  it was all I could think of." She let out a sigh and turned her head so that her forehead was placed along his spine,  his hand had come up to rest over hers. "The neighbor wasn't fast enough in unlocking her door to stop me as I ran past her, when I got into the room,  I seen him beating her, punching her. He was also raping her with his dirty,  fat, sweaty body. Blood running down her face as he was using her right there on the kitchen table where I used to eat my cereal. I yelled at him,  I don't remember what,  but he bashed my mom's head into the table before he came after me."  
  
"I tried to run but fell right outside my door,  I thought he was going to kill me. I knew no one would help me, not even the lady behind the locked door. I felt him grab my foot and heard his laugh,  telling me that he would teach me what I needed to know to replace my Mother if I wanted to have a roof over my head. My hands were scrabbling along the floor trying to keep him from pulling me into that room,  my hand closed on one of the broken bottles outside of the door and I grabbed it. The bastard flipped me over and tore at my clothing, I screamed and cried, slashed out with the bottle, I heard a grunt and his hand let go of my leg. I scrambled back, still clutching at the bottle. I heard him yelling,  telling me he was going to be gentle for my first time,  but now ... now I would know real pain."    
  
He felt pain in his gut, a raging fire burning in his veins at the thought of someone hurting her,  someone doing that to a child.  
  
"The fat bastard lunged at me, and I closed my eyes as I stabbed out at him with that bottle. I heard a gurgling, grunting noise and opened my eyes to see what was happening. That bottle I had been holding,  was now buried in his throat. He was staring at me with shock in his eyes as he tumbled over. I was so scared, crying and hurting. But I remember going to my mother, seeing her eyes open. I knew something wasn't right the closer I got, her eyes were open but sightless. I let out a scream, calling for my mother to wake up. I don't know how long I was standing there shaking her, but I heard someone at the door and at first thought it was the manager, instead it was the locked door lady,  standing there with her hand over her mouth." She withdrew her hands from around him and moved to the side leaning against the railing.  
  
"That was the first time I ever got a look at the older woman, she told me that I needed to hurry. Asked if we had any money, she asked me several times before it registered, I think. I went into the closet getting the small box. She had me pack some clothes and hide the money in a sock in my bag. It wasn't much,  but more then most people probably had in that building. Even I knew that if someone found out I had money they would hurt me and take it, I knew it would have to stay hidden. Then told me to wait in her apartment, she used an old terminal, to call someone to come help me. She told me it was her son and he would be there to take me somewhere safe."  
  
She gave a slight laugh, " when he came he took one look at the mess in the old apartment then at me and shook his head. His mother shook her finger at him and he did as she told him too. The lady gave me a small smile,  and I tried to thank her, I didn't even know her name. "It's Massani, dear, Viola Massani, that cranky man is my son, Zaeed. Don't worry he may look all gruff,  but he's actually a good man. I wish I could have helped you sooner,  could have helped your Mother,  but she wouldn't let me."  Zaeed hurried me down the hall after giving his mother a kiss on the cheek and out the back door. Taking me to a small rundown building that his gang was living in."  
  
She laughed at the expression on Feron's face, "Zaeed? That same bastard from the Blue Suns?" She nodded. "Yeah,  this was before the Blue Suns got big as a merc group, before he was betrayed. I stayed there for a while, learning... things. Then he decided he was going into space,  taking the Blue Suns as they were now called, onto bigger things. He took me to one of his old contacts who continued to teach me to fight and use weapons. Then I joined the Alliance as soon as I turned 18."  
  
"When I met Thane and he told me how he was given to the Compact at age 5 and trained but didn't make his first kill until the age of 12, it was all I could do not to snort at him,  after all the Hanar valued him,  he said. It wasn't until later that he told me they had in effect tricked him into his first kill, he thought it was practice,  that the gun was empty. It wasn't. So his first kill was at a distance, to an unknown, fairly safe for him with having extensive training. I never told him about being 8 and having my first kill done by a broken bottle clutched in my hand after almost being raped."  
  
She looked at him, " three people,  now four know that story. Zaeed, the deceased Mrs Massani, me and now you. We all have done things in our past,  we all have secrets we don't wish to be known. We all wish some things had been done differently. Does knowing I killed a man with a bottle at age 8 then running make you feel differently about me?"  
  
He looked at her,  then drew her into his arms, "no, Shepard. It doesn't, it makes no difference to me, other than to give me a better understanding of the strength of will you have."  
  
"And I feel no different about you after learning one of your secrets, Feron. I told you before, it's who you are now that matters to me."  
  
He looked down into her eyes,  gently moving the hair from around her face. "Shepard,  I don't have anything to give to you,  no ring, no fancy words. I'm broken and a mess, all I have is the love I feel, freely given to you. I know I've been a pain in your ass, childish and temperamental. But I love you so much that it hurts. I know you don't love me in the same way, but,  will you marry me? Give me the hope that one day, I too can know the love in your heart."  
  
She lifted a hand to stroke along his frill ridge, then down over his ribbing,  eliciting a low growl. "As long as you promise to stop picking weird things up off the ground,  then yes,  I will marry you. "  
  
He let out a choked cry and hugged her to him tightly, she thought her back was going to break. "I promise,  no weird things from the ground. No promises about from the extranet or stores though."  
  
"Feron!" She was trying not to laugh.  
  
"Just kidding... mostly." He kissed her before she could say anything more.


	23. Chapter 23

* * *

 

This is taking place at the same time that Feron and Shepard are on their mini "vacation"  
  
*~*  
  
Liara was in her room, between bouts of crying at almost costing Feron his life, fright that Shepard would hunt her down and anger that once again someone had either got through her system security or someone here is working for the enemy,  she paced. She threw things. She yelled. Then she took a breath and tried to find her center.  
  
"Liara T'soni, once again your inattentiveness to the small details almost caused a death. In my cycle,  that carelessness would have cost you your life." Javik said from the doorway.  
  
Liara threw a book at him, "don't you think I don't know that. Feron is my friend, I got so wrapped up in the possibility of finally getting intel for Shepard that I failed to look deeper. I have yet to get her anything useful,  and she and Feron have done so much already. I know better. I thought I had dealt with the security issues." She flopped down in her chair causing it to let out a squeak and a slight puff of air from the rapid deflation of the cushion.  
  
"Apparently you have not. You should be finding the ones responsible and removing them from this ship. Preferable through the airlock." Javik came into the room further.  
  
"How am I to do that, Javik? We have over a hundred working on the ship itself. And if someone has remotely hacked the system then that opens up an even broader area."  
  
Javik grimaced at her, "do you or do you not have access to one of the best Quarian engineers in the galaxy. One that has proven time again that she can deal with system security issues. In my cycle,  the Gev'og were the best technical species. They integrated in with the rest of the Protheans bringing their abilities with them. You have the Quarians. Use them." He towered over her where she still slumped in the chair. "I will start looking for the offenders using the readings from the various rooms with access to the databanks, and other gathering places. I will do this for the Commander, not for that primitive she is currently mated to. Once I get the information from the offenders they will be sent out the airlock as a warning to the others." His yellow eyes blinked at her. "You are too soft,  if you do not harden your soul and do what is necessary,  you will not last much longer in this ... work." He stared at her for a few seconds longer before leaving.  
  
She laid her head on the desk. Said in a mocking tone,  her voice deepened to sound like Javik, "in my cycle, this and in my cycle, that... this isn't his cycle." She sat there and pouted for a few more minutes before sitting up and running several more security apps to see if anything had been accessed before she contacted Tali on what she hoped, was a secured line.  
  


* * *

  
"That's what is going on, Tali. I need for you to come here,  check and upgrade the security." Liara was still slumping a bit in her chair as she waited for her friend to give her an answer. She still marveled at Tali not wearing her mask all the time. Since the end of the war the Geth could concentrate on helping the Quarians to rebuild their homes and cities on Rannoch. More and more of them had accepted the help of the Geth to speed up the adaptation of their immune systems. Many could now go without their suits.  
  
"Alright,  but you better warn Javik that I will be bringing an assistant. That ship is just too big for me to handle alone and Calibrator will be coming with me." She shook her head at Liara when she opened her mouth. "Don't ask,  it's all that bosh'tet Garrus's fault." Tali opened her omni tool and used the holo pad to send a message to her Geth assistant.  
  
"So, Shepard and Feron. Never seen that one coming. I thought after Thane ...",  Tali shrugged.  
  
"I know,  but Feron has always loved her. I just hope what happened doesn't tear them apart. I never meant to hurt either one, never thought someone could fly under my radar like that, as Shepard would say. I haven't heard from either one after Shepard's call to me to tell me how I failed Feron ... and her."  
  
"Well,  we will do what we can to trace and find out what is happening.  I'll have Calibrator start working on an upgraded system for you right away, by the time we arrive the software should be ready to upload. We should arrive late in the night cycle. If you could make sure the way from the docking bay to the server room is clear of anyone,  it will help. And try not to let anyone other then Javik know we are coming."  
  
"Thanks Tali."  
  


* * *

  
  
Javik stood in the small data room where the more "trusted" of the agents could have limited access to non critical data. In other words it was basically an entertainment room. Games and vid files could be watched or downloaded. Secure access to comm lines if they needed to call their contacts. He stared at each person that was there until they became uncomfortable enough to get up and hurry out the door.  
  
Once the last person had cut their call short and practically ran out the door he locked it. Took a deep breath then crouched down,  lightly touching the floor. A flood of information came to him. After several minutes he stood up,  stumbled. Individuals or rooms that were for only one or two people were easier to handle. But a room such as this where so many would come and go, so much going on, was much harder. He sat on a chair to process the information he had received.  
  
After a few more minutes he went to his own room and proceeded to wash his hands in the large basin that was there, cleaning off the residue of the room. Liara sent him a message warning him that Tali was coming and she was bringing an assistant. "She is bringing one of those machines on board this ship?" He snarled at her, his lip curling in disgust.  
  
"Yes,  she feels between the two of them they have a better chance of finding any issues and upgrading the system. It will be done a lot faster,  and the sooner they are done the sooner she can get the geth off the ship."  
  


* * *

  
  
Javik went to several other rooms,  gathering information, processing it then sorting it into mental files. Piecing together the bits of information. He had just finished another of the small data rooms when Liara informed him that Tali had arrived and would be making their way to the server room.  
  
He went to the room and watched as Tali sat up a small table filling it with different items,  then crawled into a small space between two large data storage units to hook up several cables. He turned to the large geth unit that was currently running several cables from his body to the main server.  
  
"How long will this machine be on this ship, Quarian?" He growled out,  his yellow eyes not leaving the geth's mobile platform. "As long as it takes,  Javik. We plan to be thorough. Also install upgraded security suites to the Broker's system. I'm sure you want to us to keep Liara safe. Not to mention Commander Shepard."  
  
"In my cycle we would never allow access to our data to these ... machines."  
  
Calibrator ignored Javik,  he had been told before hand what to expect, so his runtimes were aware of the feelings of hatred and mistrust that the Prothean had toward all synthetic lifeforms. Once hooked into the main server he began running his applications,  searching for and closing any hidden backdoors, bypasses, keyloggers and other such programs. "Calibrator make sure to create a list of what you find and what you did to remove it. When we see Liara we can let her know the details and go over the upgrades."  
  
"Acknowledged."  
  
Javik paced a while longer before Tali finally told him to leave he was slowing her down. He growled, threatened both her and the geth then stomped out. His next stop was one of the lone terminals in the storage areas. It was only to have access to the inventory listings but he didn't want to take chances.  
  
He went in to the room,  most of the objects were still covered with a large tarps or in crates. He skirted around these and headed for the back corner where the terminal should be. Once again he laid a hand on the terminal,  the flood of information coming to him. He frowned,  most of it was old, but there were several recent uses to access the databanks,  something that should not have been able to happen. He opened his eyes and removed his hand.  
  
"Quarian, the terminal in the storage area on deck 3 section 5 seems to have access to the main databanks,  this should not be. Fix it."  
  
"Aww,  you're so sweet to help me find the areas that have been compromised. I knew you liked me." Tali drawled back to him,  causing Javik to snarl, muttering the words Quarian and airlock in the same breath.  
  
He then went in search of the asari, no ... Liara T'soni. He sometimes had to remind himself to address her as such. "Liara T'soni, you need to have the Broker call in this particular set of of asari. They have both contacted outsiders using connections that were not approved,  they also bypassed the security of the databanks using one of the storage room terminals." He transferred names and images of the offenders to her datapad.  
  
She frowned then accessed the databank to get the names and backgrounds. They had been working for the broker for several decades. She dug deeper and found that the data had been corrupted. "Tali,  someone has corrupted some of the data in the server,  is it possible for either of you to try to recreate what was damaged."  
  
"We can try, Liara. Once we get these holes plugged up and your system upgraded. The system will go down for a short time when we reboot for the upgrades."  
  


* * *

  
  
Liara continued to try and dig up more intel on the two asari,  Javik in the meantime had gone back to the server room. Supposedly to keep an eye on the machine and to be ready to throw it out of the airlock should it be deemed necessary.  
  
"We're ready Liara. The system will go down for about 5 minutes then come back up,  Calibrator will run diagnostics and then we can see about recreating missing data."  
  
The lights flickered and the terminals went dark, Liara watched the cameras and seen several people look around confused, before the systems came back online. Liara played the pre recorded announcement.  
  
After Tali had eaten dinner with Liara that night, Calibrator approached them and gave them the details of the system breeches. Several occasions recorded comm calls had been accessed and the information copied. Liara scrolled through the list, she found the files that were saved with the conversations between herself,  Feron and Shepard along with all the Spectres. The information that had been added to files about the investigations, about the list of placed that had been pulled and collated for the Spectres.  
  
The ones that had accessed the files had been using their connection to the Shadow Broker to relay the intel to someone else,  someone connected to what was happening. The asari ... the ones that Javik had told her of. Liara frowned then showed Javik. He nodded to her, "yes, this is what I seen, Liara T'soni."  
  
Another datapad was handed to Liara and she watched several vids, pieced back together, some of it was static filled and halting, but clearly several asari and one salarian was involved. The salarian she didn't recognize and Javik pointed out that the two asari met with the salarian in one of the more active rooms, that was why he couldn't get a decent read on them. "Liara T'soni,  you must bring these asari here, I will get the information on who that salarian is. I am almost positive these primitives are working for the Dalatrass. In my cycle these traitors would be taken and dealt with harshly.  They have been doing this for a while Liara T'soni,  they probably believe you soft,  that the Broker has gone lax in security. The readings I have from the old Broker, the ones that were his agents were governed by fear of what the Broker would do should he be crossed. But you have yet to show them that crossing the Broker now, still has consequences."  
  
Liara's biotics activated,  the blue nimbus glowing around her as she continued to look at the data pad. She had tried to be fair,  she had tried to not be like the old Broker, thinking that if the agents weren't threatened or pressured they would offer their loyalty out of respect not fear. Her thinking had backfired,  almost causing Feron his life, her friendship with Shepard. The lives of how many krogan because they were killed when the Dalatrass or ones working for her were tipped that the Spectres were getting close.  
  
"Are the upgrades now complete? All of the holes in security closed?" Liara growled out. The geth said they were,  the upgrades would be almost impossible to hack as they had specialized algorithms to alert and change the security passwords should anyone other then Liara or one that she specifically authorized to have access to the databanks tried to bypass any of the security.  
  
Liara got up and ask Javik to follow her. They spent the rest of the night getting ready to bring in the asari in question.  
  


* * *

  
  
"The Broker asked to see both of you, he's waiting in his office. You better hurry he didn't sound too happy about something." Liara told the two asari who she found in the game room the next morning. She hurried out of the room,  her actions transmitting panic, worry and fear to the ones following her.  
  
Javik activated the program when he seen them on the camera hurrying down the hallway. Then stepped outside the door. "It is about time Asari. He is not pleased with having to wait for you to fetch these other two primitives. In my cycle having to wait this long would have brought swift punishment. As it is he said that as soon as you arrive to take them inside." He growled and his mouth turned into a snarl as they hurried past him. He followed them inside.  
  
The giant hologram of the figure that was supposed to be the Broker was in deep shadows,  they could see him move and sit in the chair at his desk. The digitized voice came on. "That is all agent T'soni you may leave." Liara nodded then hurried from the room,  Javik locked the door once it closed behind her. She ran down the hall slipping into her own room so she could take over and ask the questions. Once she was seated she started the recording playing of the footage from Earth of the dead asari and two Eclipse mercs.  
  
The two asari shifted where they were standing, "Kiava is dead as is her helpers. She made the fatal mistake of going against Commander Shepard. The ones that gave her that information,  have made the fatal mistake of tapping into my data network and passing on information without my authority." The next set of clips showed the two asari breaking into the system and passing intel to Kiava and the salarian. "Javik,  get me the intel from them that I requested earlier. If they refuse or try to fight you, kill them."  
  
Javik grabbed the asari closest to him as the other shook in terror. "This is the one that passed on the intel about the Commander,  she is sister to the one dead." Javik released her then turned to the other, "they both have passed on the intel to a Salarian, Orix. They were paid in credits and were promised future favors when the Dalatrass held control over the council. I have the location and their next meeting time." Liara flipped the switch to reactivate the prerecorded message then hurried to the cafeteria getting a bottle of water and leaning against the wall. One of the asari started to back up and activated her biotics. Javik hit her with a dark channel attack,  the asari's body going from having a blue nimbus to a green one, her body was flung against the wall. The other one held up her hands not daring to move.  
  
"Agent T'soni return to my office." The digitized voice was broadcast throughout the ship. Other agents watched her as she ran out of the cafeteria and down the hallway. Then their attention was drawn to all of the terminal screens along with the holo screens around the area. They seen Liara enter the room and looked around in surprise. "What can I do for you, Broker?"  
  
"You will help Javik take out the trash. These two will learn what it means to double cross the broker, the experiment has failed and is now at an end. This has proven that my previous methods were more effective and will be reinstated,  immediately. Starting with these two. Follow my orders or you will also learn what happens when someone tries to go against me,  Agent T'soni." Liara jumped in fright.  
  
"At once, Broker." She grabbed a hold of the one asari that was just coming around while Javik grabbed the other one. The cameras followed them showing them leading to the airlock, the asari struggling in their grips. Javik pushed them both in the airlock, the screen panned to Liara who covered her face as she backed away from the area. Then went back to Javik.  
  
Javik sneered at the two banging on the clear panel on the door. The screens showed him hitting the override panel,  then the picture faded to black.  
  
There was no sound,  no one moved. They were barely breathing.  The Broker's voice echoed through the ship. "Those that believed me to be soft are very much mistaken."  
  


* * *

  
  
After Liara had calmed down she sat at her desk and looked for the location of Orix,  he supposedly was on a mission for intel pick up. She contacted the ones listed on the file only to find out that there was no such scheduled pickup. She was furious at how much had been going on without her knowing it.  She really had become lax. A notice was sent out to each agent,  every trader. She wanted current location and mission reports within the next solar day. Reports started to come in almost immediately from those on board that was in between missions or had just finished theirs.  
  
She sat down and went over everything different that she had implemented from the time she had become broker. The entertainment rooms,  the limited inventory access so the traders that were bringing in or taking out the items could just update it themselves. So many other things,  that she thought would show them that they were valued. Only some of them seemed to take advantage. Now she set up a searching app to graph out everyone's work history for the last 3 years,  she would be giving any of them that were lax or just there to ...mooch, one chance to straighten up. Or they would be paying their dues in full immediately.  
  
"Liara T'soni." She looked up as Javik called to her from the doorway. "What do you want, Javik?"  
  
"The talking has begun. They are wondering what experiment,  wondering what had caused the deaths of the asari. Many of them are flooding the network with outgoing messages to their contacts with warnings." He moved further into the room,  "you have the location of the meeting. Now would be a good time to contact the Commander."  
  
Liara shook her head, "no. I want Orix alive. I want him here to answer questions. He has contacts with others,  they either know where the Dalatrass is or knows who does. I want the information."  
  
The computer brought up the names of those that seemed to be the most reliable. She picked out a team,  then had them go into the brokers office. She watched as they were all hurrying down the hallway, all of them looked nervous and Javik confirmed this as he stood outside of the doors. Once she gave him the go ahead he opened the doors and the Broker in the form of the indistinguishable hologram,  gave them their assignment. Bring the salarian traitor to the base,  alive.  
  


* * *

  
  
Two days later the group dragged an unconscious salarian through the base,  they knew the other's eyes were upon them,  heard the whispers of betrayal. They took the salarian into the same room that once held Feron. Attached him to the chair and left.  
  
One of the guards went in and slapped the salarian until he woke up, his panic becoming evident when he realized where he was.  
  
"Orix, do you remember what the punishment is for double crossing the Broker?" The vids started playing of the meetings with the asari. "These two have been dealt with for their betrayal. Now it is your turn. I want the names of your contacts. I want dates,  times and locations of meetings. I want the Dalatrass." The salarian started to sputter he didn't know what the Broker meant. Giving excuses,  denials.  
  
Until Javik entered the room.  
  
"In my cycle, salarian kidneys tasted best when they were spiced with adrenalin from fear." He made a show of scenting the air. "Mmm,  yours should taste rather good, along with broiled salarian liver. A delicacy I haven't had in 50,000 years." The salarian started to blink, then started to rapidly spew out the information as Javik kept coming closer to him. When Orix stopped talking,  Javik grabbed him,  reading him.  
  
"What he said was all he knew. He was just a messenger. He has no information concerning the actual location of the Dalatrass,  just meeting places for intel exchanges."  
  
"Have the guards take care of it,  Javik. Then make sure they clean that room, salarian urine will make that chair stink." The Broker's digitized voice came through the speakers.  
  


* * *

  
  
* Call connected *  
  
"Shepard. First let me apologize to both you and Feron,  I am so sorry. You were right,  it was my responsibility. I failed you both. I grew too complacent. I brought Tali in she went through, fixed the system. We took care of the ... leaks in more ways then one. I am still going through and finding any others. But I am sending you intel,  this is what we found out when we interrogated the ones behind the attack on Feron and you." She sent over the information to the secured terminal after running a system scan on it to make sure there was no weak spots.  
  
"That explains why we weren't able to find anything. We will be leaving in the morning and resuming the hunt. Hopefully now that your system is secure we can finally find the Dalatrass and stop this craziness."  
  
"I will do whatever I can, Shepard." Liara looked at them,  she seen the distrust in both of their eyes. She wanted to regain that trust she had and lost through her own fault.  
  
Shepard nodded at her. "I certainly hope so Broker. Trust is hard to come by." Shepard leaned forward and pushed the button.  
  
* Call Disconnected *  
  


* * *

  
  
"Shep,  you didn't tell her we were getting married." Feron said to her as he sat back on the couch, draping one arm along the back of it. Shepard snuggled in against his side. "No,  I didn't. I know Tali,  and I know the Geth. Those two working together would make anything secure. But right now,  I still don't trust the lines of communication between Liara and here. You almost ready to go?" Feron stood up nervously straightening his clothing. "I'm nervous as hell, Shepard. But in a good way. I'm ready when you are."  
  
Shepard smiled at him then stood up,  the long skirt of her newly purchased dress falling to just above her sandals. "Then let's go." She linked her hand in his,  raising up on her toes to brush a soft kiss on his lips. A spice scented breeze flowed over them as they walked out their door.


	24. Chapter 24

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It was still rather early in the evening when they entered the small wedding chapel on the edge of town. The highly polished pews reflected the light coming through the stained glass windows. Several women were busily cleaning the area as a male walked up to them.  
  
"Hello and welcome. How may I help you?" The older male looked between them,  he was shorter then she was with a balding pate,  kind eyes and a gentle smile. "We are hoping you are a full service facility. We would like to marry,  but need the certificates. They must be in accordance with not only the Council, but also the Hanar Illuminated Primacy and Human World Council. We also need rings if those are available. As you can see since we are different species the normal blood tests are not necessary."  
  
"Of course,  of course. If you could please follow me,  we shall get you started on your paperwork. If you wouldn't mind choosing the rings first I can get them started on the fabricator while you fill out the forms. If you don't have any witnesses we can also provide those along with flowers for a nominal additional fee."  
  
"We will need both, if you have them some of those white and purple flowers that grow in town would be perfect." Shepard said to the male as he stood at the counter,  transferring the necessary documents on to datapads for each of them to fill out. "We certainly do,  they are the most popular requested flowers. Now if you wouldn't mind,  place your left hand on the pad in front of you so we can measure your ring fingers. Sir,  in your case please choose either your index finger or your small finger to wear your ring." Feron placed his hand on the pad. "Index finger, I guess." The man smiled and nodded to him,  the scanner started and their exact measurements were recorded.  
  
"Here is the designs we offer,  look through them, then put the item code number into the small box on screen here and they can be started. "After several minutes of flipping from screen to screen then back again,  they found a design they both liked. Waves on a dark background encircled the band. "Very nice choice,  we can provide it the following metals: silver,  tungsten,  gold or platinum."  
  
Feron looked at Shepard who was busily filling out her form. "Platinum, please." Shepard looked up at Feron as he placed a credit chit on the counter. "Very good,  very good. One moment while I finalize the bill." He placed a pad in front of Feron who looked it over carefully then ran his chit over it,  added his thumb print and passed it back.  
  
"Alright,  let me know when you paperwork is completed. I'll get everything else ready for you."  
  
They sat on a pew and filled out the forms, "platinum?" she whispered. He shrugged, "you're worth it. If he would have had palladium I would have chosen that for you. If they had one made of diamond or the blue fire tiordin, the rarest element on Kahje from their deepest oceans, I would have asked for that."  
  
He filled out the form,  hesitating when it came to some of the areas. "What's wrong Feron?"  
  
"Some of these I have no answers for. I was never told of my parents names or our clan name." His leg started to bounce, " will it still be legal? Can we still marry?"  
  
She reached over and placed her hand on his leg. "Calm down,  fill out what you can then we will talk with the officiate." He gave a short nod,  then went back to the datapad. When they were done they walked back over to the counter and explained the situation. The male nodded then used the terminal to connect to Kahje,  the Illuminated Primacy's division for Drell Clan and Family information database.  
  
"Hello,  how may this one help you?"  
  
"Hello, this is the Del Ria Marriage Chapel on Earth. There is a human drell couple wishing to marry but he is unable to verify surname or clan. The Primacy's assistance is requested in this matter."  
  
"Please have the male stand in front of the terminal so this one can ask questions for further assistance." Feron moved to the front of the terminal and began to answer the hanar's questions. "Unfortunately the records for that particular orphanage were destroyed during the war. However,  due to those circumstances this one can authorize the following suitable accommodation. The male can chose a surname, this one can register it in the database,  or the male may elect to file for clan status. Since the war several of the Drell clans have taken in those less fortunate. This one has a listing of such clans and can authorize the acceptance."  
  
Feron thought about it, "Shep,  is it ok if I just choose a clan? I don't feel right picking a name that isn't really mine." She smiled at him, "whatever you feel is right for you. If you couldn't tell, mine didn't change from Shepard to Krios after I married Thane. I only go by my last name so its fine if you only go by your first,  we make quite a pair."  
  
He asked the hanar representative to assign a clan based in the dome that the orphanage was located. Once that was done and transferred to the form they disconnected and moved to the actual chapel. Two females were there waiting,  one holding a bouquet,  the other a small tray with the two rings on it.  
  
The male indicated where to stand,  pulled up a screen on the datapad he held, cleared his throat and began. "This is a simple civil ceremony between the two people standing in front of me. Feron of the drell clan Spiros, of the Eye of the Enkindler's Dome, Kahje and Spectre Shepard, formerly of the Systems Alliance,  Citadel. Please join hands."  
  
"Should there be anyone present who has any reason these two should not be joined in matrimony speak now or forever hold their peace." Since no one else was there the male barely paused before continuing. "Repeat after me Feron,  In the presence of our Gods and these witnesses I take thee, Shepard, to be my wife, promising with Divine assistance to be unto thee a loving and faithful husband so long as we both shall live." Feron blinked and repeated what was said in a shaky voice. The man smiled at him before continuing.  
  
"Shepard, repeat after me, In the presence of our Gods and these witnesses I take thee, Feron, to be my husband, promising with Divine assistance to be unto thee a loving and faithful wife so long as we both shall live." Feron drew in a breath as she repeated her vows, his eyes blinking and growing glassy with moisture,  he never thought he would hear anything like that coming from her,  now if only she could come to love him.  
  
The woman brought forth the rings, "each of you chose your spouse's ring, repeat after me as you slide them on the chosen finger. With this ring, I thee wed, an unending circle which signifies my unending love and respect." By this time Feron was shaking so badly that he could barely get the ring onto Shepard's finger. She placed her hand over his until he calmed then he was able to slide it on while repeating the vows. Shepard followed with hers.  
  
"By the powers invested in my by the Human World Council and the authorization provided to me in accordance of Citadel Council policy,  I pronounce you lawfully wed. You may kiss your new bride." Feron leaned down,  his fingers brushing her cheek before he placed a very gentle kiss upon her lips.  
  


* * *

  
  
They had dinner at the same restaurant as before,  the candlelight reflecting on his ring as he turned it around on his finger,  watching the play of shadow and orange light cast upon it. "What's wrong, Feron? I thought you would be happy tonight."  
  
He glanced up at her and smiled, "I am happy Shepard,  more then you can even imagine. I just wish..." he started tapping his finger on the table.  
  
"Feron, please believe me. I care for you and love will come. I care for you more everyday, as long as you don't do something weird again,  it will continue to grow. One day,  I will stand in front of you, my heart in my eyes and tell you what you want to hear from me."  
  
He reached across the table, "when that day comes it will be the happiest of my life. I shall look forward to it, wife." She raised her eyebrow and he only grinned at her.  
  


* * *

  
  
When they got to the room he picked her up and she started to laugh as he carried her into the room, "someone has been on the extranet again I see." He grinned and set her down near the couch before turning back to lock the door.  
  
When he rejoined her, she looked up at him and ran a hand down his ribbing, to his chest and sighed. "We need to tell him." He frowned and took her hands in his, "can't it wait until at least tomorrow?" She shook her head, "no, Feron. We should have told him before we got married. But he's going to be upset enough as it is. To wait even more is just going to aggravate him more." He let out a sigh and nodded, "alright,  let's get it over with."  
  
They sat on the couch together and put in a call to Kolyat.   
  
"Hey, Shep. Feron." Kolyat growled as Feron adjusted on the couch,  moving a bit closer to Shepard and put his arm around her. "Kolyat,  how is everything going there? Staying out of trouble?" Shepard asked him,  drawing his attention. Kolyat launched into what has been going on... a big old boring nothing. Mr Squeakers rolled past in his exercise ball and down a ramp that she could barely see on the other side of the table. "The guards got bored, one of them went to a store and got a bunch of stuff and built this big elaborate structure going through all the damn apartment. He rolls in that ball from morning to night,  going everywhere."  
  
"Have you heard from Sina lately?" She asked him, he nodded. "Yeah we spoke last week." He rubbed the back of his head and tapped on the table."She got accepted into a Horticultural College in London. She is going there to earn a degree. She's been so busy now that we don't get to talk much. She sent away samples of those mini watermelons and musk melons she grows. They contacted her and started the process of getting her enrolled before she told me about it." He started fiddling with the bracelet on his wrist. "It's a 5 year course. Only going to the island during the summer breaks."  
  
Shepard looked at him,  he looked crestfallen and she noticed how dull he was looking. "Kolyat, you know what London is like. It rains there a lot,  not as bad as Kahje but still. It's too much for your lungs. Can she transfer to a different school or do long distance learning?"  
  
"No, I already asked her. I know I can't stay in London,  I could barely tolerate it there when I was visiting you during your healing, I couldn't breathe right. I liked that island, I wanted to live there." Kolyat looked up at them and cleared his throat. "Enough about my problems. So what's up? When are you getting that bitch so I can get out of here?"  
  
"We are heading out in the morning to the last three possibles on my list. There is something we need to tell you." Shepard smoothed her hands down her thighs and cleared her throat. "Uh-huh, I'm not going to like this am I?" Kolyat said as he frowned,  leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms.  
  
Shepard chewed her lip and Feron shifted. "Kolyat, Shep and I were married about an hour ago." Feron said in a rush,  then waited for the younger drell to burst into an explosive rage. Instead Kolyat stared at Shepard, "did you use the hypnosis again? Did you trick my Mom?" Feron shook his head, "no, Kolyat. I learned my lesson about that shit,  I won't do it again. I didn't do it this time,  I simply asked her and she agreed."  
  
"Mom?"  
  
Shepard looked up at him, "it's true, Kolyat. I agreed when he asked me. No tricks,  no blackmail. Just a simple question." Kolyat blinked and leaned forward, his eyes going down to the table in front of him. "Alright,  congratulations, I guess. Look,  I gotta go. I got to make sure ... there's food in Mr Squeakers bowl. I'll talk to you later. Bye, Shep."  
  
 _* Call Disconnected *_  
  
"Shit." Feron muttered. "I don't know what was worse,  him wanting to kill me when he found out we were sleeping together or just now when he seemed lost." Shepard got up from the couch and walked to the window."How the hell could she do that to him, she knew he can't take that kind of rain and cold."  
  
"He's not disconnected, Shep. There is still a spark there, he's sad and upset. But he's still there. Maybe she will come around when she's away from him a while longer."  
  
Shepard grunted then opened her omni tool. "Sanca,  I just got off a call with Kolyat. What's going on? He's upset and looking ill." Sanca sighed. "One of the tourists apparently was a scientist at that college in London. He brought some of Sina's melons and talked her into sending more back as samples. She didn't tell me until after she got a letter in the mail from the guy and an offer for a scholarship there. You know she couldn't afford to go to college there otherwise."  
  
"What about the extranet,  you know as well as I do all of Earth's colleges have holo courses. There shouldn't be a reason she left the island to go there,  there was no need."  
  
He flexed his shoulders in a shrug, "I told her the same thing. She was insistent that she attend the actual college. I'm not happy about this either, Taukine. I have let her know so on many occasions. They are both young, things happen." Shepard shook her head, "it's different for drell, Sanca. Remember how Feron was? They become disconnected, their bodies separate from their souls. They don't work in concert and things can happen, they can lose their emotions, do stupid shit. I know he cared for her,  but I'm hoping that my son hasn't fallen in love with her. If so I have to alert his guards to watch him." Shepard rubbed her forehead and Feron came up behind her.  
  
"He's not fully disconnected, he may have cared for her very much. But it wasn't soul connected love. Give him time. Give them both time, things may work out."  
  
"Alright. I hope you're right about this Feron. Sanca,  keep me informed." She watched him nod as he said he would,  his voice sounding as irritated as Shepard felt.  
  


* * *

  
  
"You know it's our wedding night, instead of loving my hot wife and making her scream all night long, you're sitting here going over data and planning out attack vectors." Feron slouched nude on the chair across from her. He had grown tired of waiting for her in the bedroom hearing her calls of just another minute and came out looking for her.   
  
"I'm almost done I promise. Aite is large, with multiple facilities scattered around I need to make sure I think things out as best I can now,  it will save us some time so we can hit the ground running,  so to speak."  
  
"This one time I am going to break your rule and whine to you. You have been sitting here since right after we got off the comm with Sanca. That was almost 6 hours ago. It's almost midnight now. I know our marriage isn't ...," he shifted and rubbed his hand on the arm of the chair.  "I was hoping for a bit of what a normal couple would have with theirs. At least one of the wedding nights that they talked about on the extranet. It - it has been a while since we..." he shrugged, "since I made love to you,  I guess you could say. Or had sex or whatever you want to call it. I know it didn't end well." He let out a sigh, rested his head back against the chair and closed his eyes.  
  
She glanced at the time on her omni tool,  it had indeed been almost 6 hours,  she hadn't realized how much time had passed while she sat there and planned. She got up from the couch,  moved around to the chair and slid into his lap. "I'm sorry, Feron. I honestly didn't realize what time it was. I just wanted to try and cover everything. I can forgive this one time the whining you did." She stroked his head with a feather light touch, her fingertips sliding along the ridges and cheek frills. She could feel the vibrations from his chest,  the pleased hum and light trill of the beginnings of his arousal as she applied light pressure to the strokes along his ribbing and neck. She placed light kisses on his face as her hand moved over his shoulder and chest,  feeling his muscles rippling under her fingers,  the way his heart sped up at her caress. She felt his cock stirring under her thigh and shifted a bit on his lap, he groaned as the pressure on him eased. His hard length pressed between her outer thigh and his abdomen, throbbing with need of her.   
  
She sucked at the junction of his neck and shoulder as her warm,  slightly calloused hand enclosed him. He let out a groan when she gave him a light squeeze then started to stroke, her fingers dancing over the ridges and circling the tip. His own hand moved to her legs,  stroking the soft skin slowly moving up to her thigh to her hip,  gripping lightly. His fingers lifted the hem of the shirt she was wearing,  running his cool scaled hands along her trim waist,  brushing his thumb across her ribs.  He was breathing heavily as she turned his head toward her,  she leaned toward him,  licking his lips before pressing a soft kiss to them. She slid her tongue once more across them and he opened for her,  sliding his own tongue against hers in a slow,  sensual caress.  
  
His hand closed gently over her breast, his thumb brushing her turgid nipple as he slid his palm and fingers over her breast reverently. He was aching for her,  but he so desperately wanted to bring her as much pleasure as he could,  he failed her so many times when they had come together,  he was determined not to do so on their wedding night. It was too important to him. He eased his hand from under her shirt and started to lift it up to remove it,  only stopping his kisses once he got the shirt up high enough to finish stripping it from her.  
  
His hand once more caressed her, "have I told you how beautiful you are lately? How your skin is so soft under my hands. How the responsiveness of your body excites me even more,  to the point of wanting to bury myself so deep inside you and never leave. To feel that slick heat surrounding me,  the way you pulse around me,  milking me when I please you. The moans and cries echoing in my head,  better then my memories. When you call out my name as you reach your peak of pleasure it fills my heart, knowing I bring your body that much pleasure. Will you let me ... will you let me make love with you tonight? I- I don't want just sex,  not with you,  never with you. I want more."  
  
She gave him a small,  gentle smile before brushing her hand down his ribbing one last time. Standing up she took a few steps back from the chair and held a hand out to him. He stood and walked with her hand in hand to the bedroom. She ran her hands over him one more time,  her touch sending sparks of sensation down his spine. Need,  want,  love all blurring together for him.  
  
He brought his hand to her face in a gentle caress before tipping her head back to receive his kiss, lips and tongue in a slow glide,  creating a slow burning heat to pool in his groin. He bent slightly and picked her up,  placing her carefully on the bed before joining her. Resuming the slow, deep kisses,  his tongue delving into the hot, moist cavern of her mouth as he ran his hand down her arm to her hand,  giving her fingers a light squeeze before bringing it to his mouth. Kissing the ring that reflected the moonlight coming through the window,  before placing her hand above her head.  
  
His lips kissed a trail down her chin to her neck with light, teasing kisses. His lips and tongue were gentle against her breast,  his slightly rough tongue circling around her nipple before sliding across the hard peak. His hand cupping and brushing against the other,  giving a light pinch that caused Shepard to draw in a gasping breath. His lips resumed their meandering path down her body, stopping to kiss her belly button,  his tongue delving into the tiny opening before moving lower. His scaled hands brushing her waist again,  moving to her hips and squeezing lightly.  
  
Feron looked up at Shepard's face,  her eyes were closed and her mouth was open,  he watched her bite her bottom lip as he blew warm puff of air across the tiny patch of pubic hair. He pushed her knees apart lightly opening her to him,  to his touches and kisses. His fused fingers teased along her opening,  brushing along the sides,  circling around her clit,  before delving inside and finding liquid fire surrounding his finger. As his fingers were sliding into her,  his lips were kissing along the inner part of her thigh, when he heard her gasp and felt the way she tightened around his finger he thrust in deeper,  curling his fingers slightly. His tongue left a slight damp trail to her moist center, adding to the torment his fingers were causing her.   
  
Shepard's gasps and moans started to come faster,  her hips flexing bringing her harder to his mouth, he slid his fingers out and replaced them with his tongue. Her back bowed and a ragged call of "Feron" came from her. Her breaths coming in pants and her fists clenched tightly into the bedding. He gripped her thighs to anchor her legs then used his tongue mercilessly on her,  in her, until she screamed and shuddered in his arms. He gentled his tongue against her, then kissed his way back up her body.  
  
He kissed her very gently on the lips, his hand guiding his cock to her still quivering entrance. He slid just the tip inside before running a hand down her hip and thigh,  hooking his fingers behind her knee and pushing her leg up high around his waist. As soon as he felt her other leg shift,  her heel resting on the back of his thigh he took her one hand that was laying on the pillow above their heads with is one hand and her hip with the other. Languidly he eased his way inside her,  inch by slow gentle inch. She moaned as he filled her,  his ribbing sliding along her channel walls, across that tiny little rough patch deep inside her before a light pressure let her know he had reached her cervix.   
  
He let out a breathy little moan before withdrawing just as carefully. "Oh God, Feron, you're gonna kill me at this pace." Shepard ran her hand over his shoulder feeling the controlled strength in his arm and back. Another slow,  measured thrust had her legs tighten around his waist and thigh. She let out a moan as he continued his steady thrusting into her body. His own breaths were becoming ragged against her neck and face."Shepard,  you need to finish before me,  you have to. Please,  by all the Gods,  I need you to."   
  
She stroked the back of his head, "you're making me crazy, Feron." She pushed his shoulders, and dropped her legs from around him, "let me up." He blinked at her then eased his way from her body, she rolled and came up to her knees. He moved directly behind her, his hands supporting her waist as she wrapped one hand around his neck,  the other clutching his thigh. He kissed her neck as he lined himself up once again and she sank down on him, both of them let out loud groans. Their bodies started moving,  their thrusts against each other becoming more rapid,  the sensations from this new position building.  
  
Feron sucked and bit at the junction of her neck as she rode his cock,  her legs wide around his knees,  giving him access to that little pearl of nerves. His fused finger delved between her legs, his hand spread wide across her pubic bone, rubbing and teasing that little nub. He felt her growing tighter, her pace picking up so he matched her thrusts with his own.  
  
Her cries filling the air as he moved his other hand from her waist to her breast, plucking,  teasing the nipple. Then palming it and squeezing it when he felt the first of her pulses begin. She cried out as she slammed down on him, his fingers flicking across her clit, the milking sensation she gave him as her body shuddered around his, clenching,  pulling and relaxing over and over as her climax held her in it's grip.  
  
When her body started to calm,  he started moving again, holding her body tight against his. His pace was frantic, the heat in his balls rising to his abdomen. Seconds before his own climax consumed him,  he wrapped his arms around her,  buried his head in her neck and groaned out hoarsely, "I love you, Shepard." His body exploded in hers, flooding her with his scalding heat. The throbbing of his cock buried so deep inside her set her on the path to another orgasm, her fingers brushed against her clit. Her second release came a minute later, to her shout of his name.  
  
He carefully eased her to the bed, teasing her with a few slow thrusts causing her to moan out his name again,  before withdrawing. He nuzzled the back of her head as he laid beside her, she was wrapped in his arms tightly. "Rest,  my love." He heard her let out a sigh as she wiggled against him, drifting off to sleep a minute later. With one last kiss to her hair, he too drifted to sleep, imagining the day she would respond to him with words of love as well.  
  



	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who continues to support my writings. It is much appreciated. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

 

 

They were almost to the Phoenix Massing relay when Shepard place the comm call to Tytus. "Shepard,  we are in position. So far no ships have come or gone,  also no communications have been intercepted. There is activity on the surface though,  our scanners are picking up several areas of higher heat signatures. Transmitting the scan data to you now. What's your ETA?"  
  
"Once we hit the relay it will be approximately 10 hours. Sending you an encrypted file,  it has the attack plan and everything that I can remember from there,  along with data from a very reliable source. We will be taking the transport to the surface. It is breathable atmo,  make sure to pack supplies,  this place is huge,  when I was here before we rushed through all the buildings being hounded by geth and a rogue AI like lifeform. We need to be more thorough this time around."  
  
"Acknowledged,  see you when you get here. We'll continue to monitor the area in the meantime. Tytus out."  
  


* * *

  
  
They landed both small ships near the main base. Shepard went down the ramp first,  Feron inside of the transport, relaying any intel to Tytus and Stone that was coming through on Legion's monitors.  
  
So far there was no movement, Feron would stay in the main base area working with Legion to access any data banks that were still working while the others would go through and make sure everything was clear.   
  
Feron pulled Shepard off to the side, "you won't be too pissed at me if I try and talk dirty to you on your private line will you. You'll be gone for the rest of the day searching this place and I'll get lonely. I may need a little something to take my mind off of having to deal with Tytus and Stone being with us for a while and not being able to strip you naked so I can bend you over a railing here." His growling whispers were low next to her ear.  
  
She smirked at him, "that doesn't mean we can't sneak off into the transport for a little bit. Just have to detail the inside again when we get back to the Citadel." He nuzzled her neck above the collar of her armor and gave a soft growl. "I know what I want. I want to feel those lips around me again. That was so incredible, just remembering your lips and tongue moving on me gets me so hard. Do you think they would notice if we slipped away for a fast fuck to hold us over until later?"  
  
"Tempting,  but no. Work has to come first. Keep the comms open Feron. We don't know what to expect here and I would rather not be caught off guard ... or you caught with your pants around your ankles." He gave her a little pout, then brushed a quick kiss on her lips before making his way over to the large array of dark data screens.  
  


* * *

  
  
"Shep, Legion will be updating your HUD's shortly. We just finished the last of the area scans, the over laps are being rendered out then the data will be sent. The generators needed some work before they could be used,  someone did a number on them. Ended up having to scavenge parts from the near useless ones to get enough up and running to power the data core and the banks. We'll start running the bypasses and cracks after the system boots up."  
  
"Acknowledged, Feron. Keep an eye out for hostiles. You are there alone with no back up." Shepard was crouched looking around the corner, she thought she heard a noise from a short distance in front of her. Holding up a fisted hand she signalled the others to hold their positions. There it was again, a banging,  not very loud but enough to carry a short distance. She glanced at the others,  they nodded,  they had heard it also. "Feron, run a scan at my location, approximately 15 meters to the north of my current position."  
  
"On it. Scans are showing 2 heat signatures. Not a lot of movement though."   
  
"Acknowledged,  moving out." She signaled to the others to move into a tighter formation and they slowly crept their way toward where the blips were now showing on their HUD. They approached an open doorway, listened for a moment and heard another faint bang noise. She did a countdown on her fingers,  when she again had her hand fisted, both males swung into the room each moving several steps in opposite directions with her going in the middle. There was no gunfire, the males kept sweeping the room while Shepard headed toward where the banging was heard coming more often now.   
  
She found two salarians propped up against a wall behind what looked like an over turned table. Both had been shot,  but not fatally so. "Tytus,  Stone over here, crack the med kit we have 2 possible hostiles. I want them kept alive for questioning." Shepard kept her weapon on the two salarians who were now both looking at her,  the one looked to be trying to talk but couldn't do more then make a few hissing sounds of pain.  
  
Stone watched the doorway as Tytus worked on field treatments to the two salarians. It took most of their packed med supplies to treat the worst of the salarians, he had multiple wounds that needed cleaned and the area sterilized before being packed with quick clot medigel packs. The other one wasn't so bad,  he had been the one banging with what looked like a datapad against the table.  
  
"Feron,  we have two guests that will be staying in the main area, we will be bringing them back with us as soon as they stabilize. We need active scans running now, look for more survivors,  these guys were shot for a reason. I want to know what that reason is."  
  
"Copy that, Shep. Most of the data core was wiped,  we found some files saved on some of the local servers,  must not have been transferred to the core before they had started to wipe everything. Looks like they got in a hurry to clean up and missed things. Hopefully the other databases will have more on them. Get some answers finally."  
  


* * *

  
  
Tytus and Stone supported one of the salarians each while Shepard guarded them,  it took them several hours to make it back to the main room. When they finally did make it back Feron was ready for them,  he had cleared an area to use as a place to put the salarians, not near any doors or the terminals, they would be in full view anywhere in the room. He supplied them with some water and a ration bar while the team got their own,  sitting on crates or chairs,  whatever happened to be available.  
  
Shepard waited until they were done,  stood in front of them,  her arms crossed and stared down at the two salarians. "What are your names? Why are you here? This place was shut down under my authority when I was here last time cleaning up a Cerberus mess."  
  
"Please don't hurt us, we are only scientists assigned here. My name is Tobin,  his is Xeren. We got here about 7 months ago. They pulled us off of a genetic testing group that was working on finding new gene therapies to treat for Pyraxirian Syndrome. One of the few diseases that seem to be only affecting Salarians. Many generations,  certain family bloodlines.  Came here,  was told to work on genophage. Told them no experience on Krogans. Angered the head scientist. He said do it anyway, the Dalatrass would have our heads if we refused." The salarian shifted and started to speak again after he seemed to get more comfortable."Neither of us wanted to be here, we did what we could to slow them down. No need to fight with the Krogans. Three years so far,  no trouble. No real trouble, just mercs,  same as before. But no major Krogan threat. No need for the genophage. Changed a test value here and there,  just enough to invalidate the data. Last month, received warning. Pack up,  get out as fast as we can. Leave nothing. Announcement came over speaker. Ship spotted on radar,  move to other site, clear this one. Wait till ship leaves or lands then evacuate."  
  
"They caught us transferring data to a different server, hoping that whoever was out there was here to stop them. We got shot. Left for dead. Almost was. Thank you for saving us, not killing us on sight, Commander."  
  
She turned to Tytus, "that explains all the activity you seen on the surface the past day or so. We're close. We need to move." She looked back at the Salarians. "What site did they move to, quickly."  
  
"Evacuate to site C was the order. Listed as a ship or vehicle of some sort,  no details really,  as we were to be transported there."  
  
Shepard nodded, there was only one ship in this area that could be what they meant,  the downed Geth ship she cleared the last time.  "Stone,  you stay here with Feron. Watch these guys. Feron you get your ass in gear,  get that data copied. Legion, move the transport to the front, we will need you for this one. We are heading for a Geth ship."  
  


* * *

  
  
"Any comm signals?" Shepard was laying on top of the transport with Thane's sniper rifle out scanning the area with the scope.   
  
"No signals. No transports or fading heat signatures." Legion's screens had data scrolling so fast that Tytus couldn't keep up with the data flow. He knew better then to question why Shepard was speaking to her vehicle and not in a way to activate a VI.  
  
"Legion,  do a quick scan,  make sure those Geth platforms inside as well as that damn cannon are still offline. Your transport is good but can't hover like the hammerhead could."  
  
"Hmpf, you should know by now Shepard,  my transport is the best vehicle ever build. Well, with the possible exception of the Normandy." Shepard let out a laugh, " you sure it was the Normandy and not EDI's top heavy mobile platform you admired?"  
  
"No data available."  
  
Shepard let out a loud snort,  patted the transport then climbed back inside. "Let's go, nice and easy, Legion."  
  


* * *

  
  
Shepard and Titus made their way inside, she kept her distance from the wreckage of the Geth prime she had destroyed the last time she was here along with the smaller platforms and made her way through the once again eerily quiet ship.  
  
"Now I remember why I hate this place... too damn quiet." Shepard was tense as she moved her way through,  none of the platforms that still remain in the ship have connected to the Consensus for the upgrades,  they would be hostile if they activated until they connect. They were nearing one of the data bank rooms when they were hit with a noxious smell.  
  
"Gods, please not again." Shepard's voice shook,  she remember that smell,  it was the same as when they opened the locked door and found all the dead krogan.  
  
"Shepard, a shuttle just lifted off from the fighter hanger. Trying to jam controls and comm signals before they get out of range."   
  
Shepard slowly worked her way toward where the smell was emanating from, hoping that the shuttle could be brought down. "Negative. Their shuttle contained a bypass,  secondary controls took over and activated the FTL in low atmo. Dangerous."  
  
"Are those people crazy? That could have torn the shuttle apart." Tytus gasped out,  apparently his suit's filters weren't doing a good enough job with the smell,  it sounded like he was trying not to gag. Shepard shook her head at him, "not just crazy. They are more desperate now. We almost had them. They are loosing ground fast now."  
  
She looked at him as she grabbed a piece of metal to pry the door they came to open. The locking mechanism had been smashed. He gave a brief nod and shifted his grip on the weapon. She wedged it into the emergency slotting along the seal,  dropped her head in a quick prayer,  flexed her fingers,  then jerked the metal rod. Pulling for all she was worth until the pop of the seal gave and the door opened several inches,  releasing another wave of the smell.  
  
When they got the door fully opened they both stood astounded at the carnage. Krogan, Asari and Salarian. "Spirits,  they were cleaning house."  
  
"Fer...Feron,  send an emergency message, Councilor Sparatus only. Tell him Aite needs bio hazard clean up. Send him a copy of my hardsuits recordings of this room along with the location. We need them bagged and tagged. Legion,  I need for you to see if you can crack any data they may have left." Shepard turned and stumbled out the door, "I gotta get out of here for a minute."  
  


* * *

  
  
Tytus found her sitting on a rock when he went back outside,  her helmet was on the ground near her. "This is fucking worse the some of the shit the Reapers did. They blasted humanity for the Cerberus shit and look what the hell their own people have done. You know what that bitch Tevos said to me when I appeared back from the dead and stood in front of the Council? Cerberus was an avowed enemy of the Council, it was treasonous. Working for them was a Capitol offense. And look at what she did, what Valern did. And they call me a traitor?"  
  
"Shep, Sparatus is sending a team here,  they have to do it quietly since this technically is Terminus space. It will be a while before they get here. He estimates 4 days." Feron's quiet voice came over their comms letting them know the news. "Alright, thanks Feron. How are our guests doing?"  
  
"They are both asleep,  neither one has made any moves to get away or anything. I think the guy was being truthful, some of this data wouldn't have been left on those terminals, ever. Shep, there are some notes on some of this. They weren't just going to be satisfied with neutering the Krogan. They were going to find ways to do it to others as well,  any species they thought was too powerful for them to control. Humans are at the top of their list."  
  
"Christ, that fucking Dalatrass is as bad as a Reaper." Shepard picked up her helmet and headed back inside the ship,  she had more searching to do,  hopefully she can make some sense of this one day. Because right now it all seemed a giant nightmare she wasn't able to wake up from.  
  


* * *

  
  
Shepard and Tytus worked through the night cycle, separating the bodies, getting holo images of them all. They were hoping the Salarians could identify some of them. None of the bodies had any form of identification,  no data pads or OSD were found in the room. Legion copied what he could find which wasn't much.  
  
"Spirit's Shepard, all of them were shot multiple times,  most of them in the back, like they were herded in there then executed." Tytus was sitting on one of the tables in the room adjacent to the storage room,  he looked as exhausted as she felt.   
  
"Help me close up the door then we'll head back to the main base. We'll get the other two facilities swept before the clean up crew gets here. I hope to hell we don't find more of this at the other places."   
  
Tytus let out a huff,  his mandibles flicking before helping her to slide the door closed as best they could.  
  


* * *

  
  
Feron was waiting when they returned, he helped her with her armor even though she didn't need it. "I used one of the fixed generators to get power for showers." He received one of her rare smiles. "It's not hot water but at least you can get cleaned up some." Stone told her he would take care of her armor. She headed to the room Feron pointed out.  
  
Feron waited until the others had their backs turned then slipped out and joined her in the shower. She hadn't turned it on yet when he walked through the doorway. "Hey there, beautiful. Let me help you with that." He reached behind her and unzipped her underarmor, running his hands up her back, easing the heavy garment off her shoulders and down her arms.  
  
She leaned back on him as his hands massaged her shoulders. "Let's get the rest off you." He whispered to her as his hands kept up the kneading motion. He quickly stripped the rest off as well as his own, turned on the light decon spray the facility had for a shower and both of them stepped in. His hands went back to work, smoothing along her skin, kneading where he felt a knot of tension. Cupping her breasts gently,  his thumbs brushing against her nipples,  before working their way down her body. He found a spot that when he started to work the knot from it she let out a groan and a deep sigh.  
  
"Better?" His lips skimmed along her collarbone and neck. She let out another groan and shivered as his hand brushed down her stomach,  his fused fingers sliding between her legs. "Relax, my love." His fingers worked his magic on her body, giving her a shattering orgasm that released much of the tension she was holding onto. He reached over turned off the spray and waited for the drying process to finish before stepping out and redressing. Sucking a hissing breath in as he tried to get his pants fastened over his hard on. "Feron, why did you stop?" Shepard slipped into a set of clean underwear before sighing and putting the underarmor back on. They would be staying in their armor until all of them were safely back on their own ships.  
  
"That was for you, Shep. It is one of the few things I can do for you." He quickly kissed her,  now that his erection had lessened somewhat he leaned against the sink and put his boots back on, gathered up his coat and walked with her back to the main room. "We got a private message from the Broker earlier, mercs were sent out to the locations where intel was exchanged. They are after the ones that might have the intel we need for this. Updates will be sent, but we were informed that the Broker will be handling that part, we were to concentrate on the last of these stops. An invitation was also sent in case we found we needed a day or so to unwind. I sent back an acknowledgement but no acceptance. I know we will need to go back sometime, but I'm honestly not to thrilled with the thought just yet."  
  
"Me either,  but like you said,  we will need to go back sometime. Even if it is only to get our belongings and say goodbye."  
  


* * *

  
  
She sat on the floor next to Feron's chair as he continued to work on the databases, she in turn was working on trying to get the blood and other things off of Tytus's gear as he was in the shower. She had swiped Feron's coat, folding it up to sit on until she got around to putting her armor back on. The two salarians were awake and when they were told they were the only survivors and what had happened to the other scientists they spent 5 minutes mourning them. Then agreed to go through the holos that were taken and start identifying them. It would be a big help to clean up crew when they got there in a couple of days.  
  
Tytus came out and they got ready to sleep. Stone looked up and yelled, "Geth!" he grabbed for his rifle and Shepard yelled, "don't fire!"  
  
"Shepard,  this platform will be of assistance." The white trooper platform stood in the doorway of the room, then moved inside.  
  
"Legion,  for the love of the Gods,  tell me you just didn't swipe one of the platforms from the ship." Shepard stood up and Stone put his weapon away.  
  
"There were several platforms that were undamaged. I am borrowing one. I miss my old platform, it was much more efficient than this model." Legion held out the platforms arms and shrugged its shoulders.  
  
"Looking good, Legion. A mobile platform that isn't a transport still suits you." Feron called from where he was still sitting at the terminals. "Thank you, Feron. I still prefer my old platform, it was more stylish,  except for the hole." Shepard started laughing, patted the Geth on the shoulder,  walked to the table holding her weapons then tossed her assault rifle to him.  
  
"Spirits, will someone tell me what is going on here?" Tytus asked from the other side of the room where he still had a weapon drawn.  
  


* * *

  
  
The next morning Shepard, Stone and Legion headed toward the Vulcan station. With Legion guiding the transport,  using the thrusters to jump over the stream of lava,  while Stone clutched onto the safety harness not daring to look at the cameras visual that was showing as a window to the front,  they made it to the other side, they climbed out making their way into the geothermal plant. Nothing looked disturbed from the time she was there to open the vents and activate the over ride. They hurried back out and Legion got them back to the other side of the lava river.  
  
The last place was the one she was most dreading going. Atlas station, where David Archer took control briefly of her Cerberus implants, guiding her,  showing her what happened to him. Asking for her help in the only way he knew. Wanting to be stopped.  
  
Shepard cleared her throat, "this one has a lot of labs. Just watch what you are doing in here, Stone. Don't push any buttons."  
  


* * *

  
  
They moved slowly through the building until they got to the elevator shaft. It was still a pile of rubble on the bottom so they had to figure out how to get down to the next floor. "Legion, see if you can pull up the schematics on this building,  there has to be emergency access. Cerberus wouldn't be that stupid,  they would want access to their projects if something happened to cut power or something."  
  
He went to one of the power conduits and opened one of the compartments on the platform, plugging directly into a port that was there. After about a minute he disconnected. "The power conduits have a maintenance shaft, that runs between the floors. We access that and then we can travel to the different floors." He led the way back to one of the other rooms and tore one of the tables out from the wall, revealing a panel.  
  
They moved through the rest of the building,  nothing showing to have been disturbed,  quite possibly because of the broken elevator. In the final room Shepard stood staring at the machine where the young man had been imprisoned. Legion moved up beside her and stood there as well. "Records show David is still doing well at the new academy. The knowledge he gained from the Geth is being utilized for a better purpose. The Geth speak to him, they have been trying to help. Find some way to repair some of the damage to his neural pathways caused by the forced interface Cerberus did."  
  
"I'm happy to hear that, Legion. After what he went through it is a miracle he can function as well as he does."  
  


* * *

  
  
The next few days seemed to drag by as they waited for the team sent from the Council to finally arrive. When they did Shepard and Tytus showed them to the Prometheus station and into the room where the bodies were.  
  
When the crew were done and on their way back to the Council with the new evidence and bodies to return to their families once this mess was all done, the others stood outside of the main base taking one last look at a planet that should have been a beautiful place to them, but it was nothing more then a nightmare world of death and pain.


	26. Chapter 26

* * *

 

 

She typed her report on the way to Horizon, Tytus and Stone would be accompanying her there as well. After what they had found on Aite they didn't want her to go alone. She attached vids and a copy of the report that Tytus had sent to her then sent it off to the Council to be added into the evidence for the trial.  
  
"Shep, love, we have another 5 hours before we get to Horizon,  you need to try and rest. I'll wake you when we get close." Feron had come up behind her, slowly rubbing her shoulders,  his thumbs finding the knot along her shoulder blade and massaging as she let out a sigh.  
  
"I don't think I can, Feron. I can't seem to get that damned image of what we found when we opened that door out of my mind. This has got to come to an end soon,  we need to find her before more of that happens. She is a criminal, one of the worst ones I have ever come into contact with." She put her elbows on the table and rested her head in her palms.  
  
"Shepard, you have an incoming call from the Shadow Broker. Should I patch it through to the bridge or to your quarters?" Legion's voice came over the comm speakers. "Bridge,  Legion. Tell her I will be there in a minute."  
  
She got up, quickly kissed Feron and walked to the bridge.  He followed her and sat in the pilot's seat as she pushed the button to connect the vid call.  
  
"Shepard, we tracked down some of the contacts that intel had been leaked to. We traced several more from there. During ... interrogations, we obtained some information for you. The Asari that had been following her,  the ones helping with this mess,  they were assigned to her by orders issued from the Asari Republics. I have forwarded the intel to the remaining Council, even though they are my own species,  what they are doing is wrong. Most of the ones that we were able to bring in were trying to find ways to flee from the Dalatrass ... and you. They knew that as soon as you got to them it would be all over, either you would kill them outright or the Council would for their involvement in this. One more thing, that Salarian you brought in a while ago,  the Doctor. He met with an unfortunate accident when he tried to attack Javik when he went in to do a reading on him. There wasn't much, a series of names that we are researching. I don't know if they are connected or if it is completely unrelated to this."  
  
"Alright,  we are almost to Horizon. I'll contact you again after we get done there. Thank you,  Liara." She gave a nod to the Asari,  she saw the sadness on her friend's face,  but she still had a hard time letting go of the anger she felt toward her for not being more careful.  
  


* * *

  
  
They landed outside of the complex known as Sanctuary. Over three years had past since she last stepped foot on this forsaken planet. There were no more fires, the vegetation had grown up around the area.  Some of the more aggressive plants were as high as the barricades now,  spreading their green vines across the blackened slabs of metal,  concrete and plastic. The remaining shuttles had been scavenged by the Alliance long ago, their parts used for repairs of evacuation shuttles from the more war torn parts of Earth.  
  
"We go slow,  this facility is also quite large,  with an upper level and several areas below the surface. This place was infested with Reapers, modified Rachni and a whole host of other things. If they were using it,  it should be clear of that shit,  but with what that Dalatrass and her people have been doing,  the God's only know what we will find inside."  
  
They made their way into the facility,  Shepard on point. Tytus on one side of Feron, Stone on the other. Legion and his mobile platform bringing up the rear. Apparently he was unhappy with the pure white of the trooper platform and had run it through the customizer on the decon and repair unit. It was now white,  black and had a bold red stripe that ran down his right arm. It had caused Shepard to raise her eyebrows at him when she had seen it. His light flickered, "no data available before you even ask, Shepard." She laughed and patted him on the shoulder. Harbinger had no idea just how much the organics and synthetics could become so much alike,  just by accepting each other and interacting. They were really given no chance, one of them would over react and then the Reapers would use it to their advantage. Until Shepard and the true Geth.  
  
As they approached the front of the building they noticed the door was open and drew their weapons as a precaution. Inside of the building was still a mess,  the Alliance and Council had sent in teams to go over any data that was still there on the terminals,  the clean up crew were after the bodies of the Reapers. She hoped like hell it was to dispose of them not to experiment with them. Feron went to one of the junction boxes and tried to get the power restored, Legion went over and bypassed several circuits with no luck. The power was gone until they could find the actual generators and find out why they wouldn't start.  
  
"Well,  that's a good sign though right. No power means they couldn't have been doing experiments or nothing like that,  right." Stone piped up as they made their way through the first main floor,  checking rooms as they went for anything to give them a clue that someone had been there recently. "Maybe. But it could just be the power up here that is off. The areas below are extensive. Not to mention the tower."  
  
"You just had to go and bust my happy bubble didn't you." Stone grumbled as they approached where the giant hole in the ceiling and wall were. Several shuttles had crashed into the building when the pilots had grown impatient at not being able to land and get into what they perceived was a safe place from the Reaper invasion.  
  
After another hour they made it to the far side of the area and near the exit to the back of the facility. They stepped through the shattered door and into the courtyard. The giant pool was still empty,  the thick cables running down into the huge generator that powered the lower levels.  
  
"Legion,  check it for power connections before we go down in there." Shepard paced and rolled her shoulders while they waited for him to run his scans and connection tests. She stopped pacing when she saw the lights start to flicker then power completely up. "Well,  hell." Stone groaned out. Legion walked over to her, "power had been reactivated to the lower systems approximately 3 months after the Alliance clean up and termination of systems. It had been shut down approximately 3 hours ago remotely. No shuttles or comm traffic has been noted. If there are organics inside,  they are still here. Records indicate that there was something built into the building itself that shielded them from outside scans. I can not access intel on what is happening inside the lower levels. Recommend extreme caution."  
  
"Feron,  get back to Legion's transport,  monitor our comms and scan for outgoing transmissions from there. Once we know it's safe one of us will come and get you." When he growled and started to complain,  she stared at him until he held up his hands and took a few steps back from her before turning around and taking a more direct route back to where they had left the transports.  
  


* * *

  
  
"Scans have been started on the outside of the facility and I am monitoring all communications. Legion's got us hooked into the system for power,  we have vid feeds as well so we can keep an eye on the inside of the main building. You be careful in there love, we have yet to have a decent honeymoon. I was thinking of going back to that island for a bit, without Kolyat, and swim naked with you in that warm ocean water."  
  
"For shit's sake, we don't need to hear that crap. And when did you two get married?" Stone muttered into his comm as they opened the interior door into the first large control room. Shepard walked over and looked out of the window down into the lower level where the experiments were taking place when Cerberus was trying to control the Reapers. It was quiet,  no leaping husks or running marauders trying to get into the shadows this time.  
  
"Legion, check that terminal. See if there is anything on it." There had been signs that people have passed through here recently, a datapad left laying under some papers with a date that was only a month old, warning of possible need to evacuate. Then there was the trash that was in the bins. Small things,  like food in the cupboards with an use by date that was still several months away.  
  
"Local terminal has been wiped, no retrievable data. We will need to find the server and data banks." Legion called to her from the small cubby he was standing in trying to access any data.  
  
"Alright, move out. Eyes and ears open."  
  


* * *

  
  
Four hours later they were coming up on the lower of the two levels. The large open area where containers would be moved and the large lab on the other side of it. "Feron anything yet?"  
  
"No. There has been nothing. I mean absolutely nothing,  not even static. How much longer before I can come down in there? This is creepy as hell being up here alone." Feron grunted as Shepard laughed and called him a scaredy cat. "I don't know what the hell that means, Shep. But it's damn weird being up here."  
  
"Feron,  hate to tell you this, but we are less then halfway done yet. Plus there is still the tower to get through. So far it's been empty, but there are signs that people were here recently. I have this feeling we need to keep moving. I can't spare anyone to come get you right now. Just hang tight. I'm sure there is something that can keep your mind occupied while you watch the scans."  
  
"I guess I can pull up a porn vid that I found still lurking on the ship's data banks. I thought they had all been purged but I guess Legion missed this one since it was in a folder marked, "Kolyat's private crap keep out". Something about a back door." Shepard tripped and almost fell, Stone started to laugh. "Forget it, Feron. Don't even think about it."  
  


* * *

  
  
The lab contained the most evidence they had found to date. There were chairs over turned, data files left laying around. Whoever was here left and left in a hurry. There were cups of cold coffee that had been left on desks that hadn't yet formed a sour milk smell to them. "Legion, stay here,  gather up everything that is evidence,  search every terminal, every box, every cupboard. The three of us are heading into the next set of labs. Stay alert." Legion's head lamp flickered then he set about gathering items as the others moved into the next room.  
  
Legion had packed up the boxes,  labeled and sealed them. He put them on a cart, pushed them up to the courtyard where Feron met him and they loaded up the boxes on Tytus's shuttle. Afterward they both went and joined Shepard. Feron had not wanted to be left up there. They caught up to them at the elevator to head up to the tower. Shepard gave him the raised eyebrow treatment and he shrugged.  
  
"We go floor by floor. Legion you and Feron wait at the elevator. The rest of us go room to room. Ready?" When everyone gave their nods of agreement she hit the call button and waited for the elevator. Feron slipped up next to her, "so Shep,  about that vid. It was ... interesting, to say the least. I got to wondering what else was in that folder. That boy of yours is into some seriously kinky shit."  
  
"I don't want to hear about it, think about it or even know about it. Shut up."  
  


* * *

  
  
"Shepard,  look on the floor near that door. Is that blood?" Tytus's strained voice came over the comms. There was no smell of decay and the blood didn't look all that old. "Yeah,  and it's not too old either. Be ready, just watch what you are shooting at in case there are hostages or subjects in there." Shepard muttered a quick prayer to Kalahira, shifted her grip on her weapon and gave Stone a nod. He hit the button to open the door. Nothing happened. He hit it again. The door didn't budge,  but the panel looked undamaged.  
  
"Shit. Legion, we need you down here. The door won't open,  I can't tell how it's been disabled." Shepard waited as Legion approached and ran a scan of the panel. "It is functional,  but has been keylocked from the inside. There is someone in there that is alive,  or was, in order to lock this door in this manner. It will take me a few minutes to bypass the lock."  
  
All of them waited with baited breath as Legion worked. "Done." He backed up into his position at Shepard's right and readied his own weapon. Stone hit the button again and the door slid open.  
  
Inside was a mass of people. Salarian and Asari, they had backed up against the wall with the Asari glowing with biotics and looking like they were trying to protect the Salarians. Shepard took this all in at a glance. To the side were several desks that had been cleared and bodies were laying on them. Some had what looked like small pieces of paper laying over their heads, others had their eyes open and staring at the door. In one of the other corners she seen an armored foot sticking out from behind an overturned desk.  
  
"Spectre Shepard.  No one move a muscle. You are all under arrest for colluding with a criminal wanted in the mass murder of and unauthorized medical experimentation on the Krogan species."  
  
She watched as one by one the Asari let their biotics fade. One held up her hands and took a step forward. "Spectre,  my name is Doctor Edare. We mean you no harm and will give you no trouble. We will answer all your questions."  
  
"Fine,  start with why you are in this room. Why are there injured or dead people on those tables and why there is a body behind that desk."  
  
"We were working in one of the labs,  running tests on genetic samples from various species. We were all that was left here after the warning came in and the mercs came and took all of the ... subjects that had been here. A few hours ago another group of mercs came, they were pushing and shoving us into the elevator and then into this room. When we were all in here,  one of them shot several of the doctors in the back. When we saw what was happening we put up barriers and some of us fought back. The mercs that were left ran, then we locked the door. One of the technicians put on a keylock. The mercs that we were able to stop,  we piled in that corner and hid from our view. We did the best we could with the injured. Some just couldn't hold on. Then the power went off and we couldn't get the door to open. When the power all of a sudden came back on some of us wanted to leave,  but some of us thought it may have been more mercs coming after us so we waited in here. Then you came and opened the door. We...we thought we were going to die in here."  
  
Shepard looked at the others that were still hovering against the wall. She wanted to shoot the lot of them for what they did. But her honor won out, that and the thought of more live witnesses for the trial. "Legion,  go get Feron. Have him contact Sparatus and Johnson. This is Alliance property and we may need Johnson to run interference to get the Council crews onto this planet to collect these detainees. Tytus, check the injured,  see what you can do. Stone keep an eye on these guys while I check that body."  
  
Shepard moved the desk aside and saw there was more then one body back there. All were wearing Eclipse armors. She hacked their omni tools copying them for Legion to go over later then shoved the table back into place.  
  
"More Eclipse,  just like the ones from Gellix and the smuggling operation." Shepard let out a breath and waited to hear from Feron or Legion.  
  
"Shepard, they said it would be days before they could get here. Johnson said the Alliance is wanting to come to get them for,  get this,  trespassing."  Feron's voice came over the comm,  the disgust clearly noticeable. "Like hell, Feron. Legion get me a vid comm link to Zaeed. If the Alliance thinks we are letting this go they got another thing coming."  
  
Legion hacked the closest terminal and set up a secure channel.  
  
"Goddamn it,  why the hell does a bloody Geth have my contact info! How the hell did you get this line?" The gruff merc shouted on the comm.  
  
"Shut the fuck up Massani and listen. We don't have a lot of time here. I know damn well you got some of your boys in the Traverse. I need to hire them for a quick pick up and transport. We got a load of witnesses that needs to get to the Council and the Alliance are being little shits about letting the Council come here.They are part of that Krogan mess, we need transport and we need it immediately, Z. Horizon. We can get them to the roof for shuttle evac."  
  
"Christ, Shep. This is gonna cost ya. I can get a ship there in 2 hours,  you gotta get those bastards to the roof and have them ready to haul ass out of there. If the fucking Alliance knows about them you can bet your sweet ass they are already on the way."  
  
"We're moving now, Z. I'll have another Spectre escort you so it's official and no one will stop you from getting them to the Council. Just send me the bill when they are in Council's hands."  
  
They cut the connection and Shepard waved her rifle at the others, " you heard the man. Get up to the roof. And trust me when I tell you I have no qualms about killing you for what you have all willingly done. But I want you alive and in front of that Council. If you cooperate they may be more lenient." A few had started to object,  Legion focused his weapon right above the head of the Salarian grumbling the most and fired. The bullet left a graze between the horns on top of his head and a nice round hole in the wall behind him. "Grab the injured and get them moving. Stone, haul your ass to your shuttle and get it prepped and ready. Legion get ready to move ours up there as soon as the last of these guys are on the shuttles up to transport ship."  
  


* * *

  
  
"Shepard, the Alliance's first shuttles just arrived on Horizon." Legion brought up the vid screen showing several ships were entering the area. "Get us to the relay and through it. Not even the Alliance will be stupid enough to fire on us without bringing the Council down on their heads."  
  
Shepard had Legion completely wipe the data core after making sure everything had been copied. All the files, forms,  every scrap of data was gone. The only thing left was the pile of dead mercs stuffed behind the desk. Tytus and Stone was escorting the transport to the Council. Shepard had let out a soft laugh when Legion told her the name of the ship. It was part of the smuggling ring she was after before this mess had fallen into her lap. That would account for why she wasn't able to get the bastards, Massani had figured out she was the one coming for them and knew all her little tricks.  
  
She put in the coordinates for meeting up with Alenko and Cortez,  then showered and fell into the bed where Feron was currently letting out soft, whizzing snores.  
  


* * *

  
  
When they arrived Shepard docked with Alenko's ship and went aboard. Kaidan and Steve was waiting for her,  one handing her a beer the other a datapad.  
  
"We have run recon on the base. There is activity there. I couldn't get in close enough without tipping them off to get more intel then this. My contacts in the Alliance have assured me that they are not the ones here. It is possible some remnants of Cerberus is still there,  but would they even have the funds to start repairing this place. The fifth fleet almost tore the place apart when you were here last." Kaidan leaned against the counter and saw Shepard flinch when he mentioned the last time they had been there. His own memories of what they found, what they had encountered and what she had done to that son of a bitch when she finally got her hands on him,  flashed in his memory.  
  
"Legion's scan showed that not all of the base has had repairs done to it. I'm guessing they either don't have the funds or can't repair the large gaps in some of the station. The areas that we were running through were still in operational condition when we left. I knew we should have blown this station completely apart but we didn't have the fucking time." She drank more of her beer then closed her eyes. "We start there. Kaidan, Legion,  Feron and myself. Cortez,  I need you monitoring the space around the station,  along with any comms coming in or out."  
  
"You're taking Legion? The transport won't fit into the area, Shepard." Kaidan looked at her as if she had a few screws loose,  causing her to laugh. She brought up the holo vid and connected to Legion. "Kaidan wants to know how you are coming with us." The holo changed to show Legion's mobile platform holding a sniper rifle on his shoulder that she had bought off one of the smugglers before they left and her assault rifle in the other hand. "He stole one of the older Geth models from Aite."  
  
"I need a better sniper rifle,  the accuracy on this one, " a pause,  several clicks and whirls were heard, "sucks." Legion said before he turned off the connection. They all started to laugh, "damn, Shepard,  he's sounding more like a Marine then a Geth every time we talk to him."  
  
"Shep, incoming calls. The first is from Liara. She has intel. The others are from Spectres. They are requesting you hold off on going into the station. They are on the way to join us." Shepard put her bottle down as Feron told her this. "How many are coming?"  
  
"All of them but Stone and Tytus. They are all on the way and ready to follow you inside to finish this. ETA for the furthest one out is 15 hours." Shepard bowed her head, "send the acknowledgment and let them know we will be waiting for them. Patch her through when you are done with that, Feron."  
  
Several minutes later Liara popped up on the holo screen,  she offered greetings to both Kaidan and Cortez before telling Shepard she had the names of most of the financial backers. She had already sent the data to the Council and they were currently freezing all accounts then sending out forces to get them. She also passed on intel that she had yet to verify, the Dalatrass may not be on Cronos Station anymore. One of the informants had traded the intel for leniency.  
  
"Other then us finding out she isn't here by ripping this place apart,  how are you going to verify it?" Shepard crossed her arms and stared at the screen."I'm tracing the bank transfers now. The name of the ship that was given is supposed to put into port for a transfer of passengers on Intai'Sei. I have a team landing there as we speak, they will be in place and if she is there will either report back or if she isn't well guarded will grab her. I'll let you know either way. If it is her and they can't get to her they will tag the ship she gets on and follow it. If she doesn't show,  the informant will be dealt with and I will let you know."  
  
Shepard looked at Liara,  her eyes seeing the desperation in the Asari's eyes, hoping that this would be enough for Shepard to start to forgive her. "Alright, thank you Liara. We'll talk later, alright." She saw the shaky smile and heard the barely audible hiss of Liara letting out the breath she had been holding. Shepard cut the connection.  
  
"I'll see you in a few hours, once the majority of the others get here we will connect via vid comm and go over the plan." Shepard tossed her bottle into the recycle unit and left to go back to her own ship.  
  
"Is she going to be able to handle this, Kaidan?" Steve's question echoed Kaidan's own worried thoughts. "I don't know, Steve. We will have to be ready in case she has another melt down like before." He let out a sigh and took the bottle of Canadian Lager that Steve held out to him before pulling him into a hug. His eyes still on the airlock door.


	27. Chapter 27

* * *

 

 

When the last Spectre to arrive came within comm range Shepard opened one big conference call. She went over all the details they had, uploaded the scans that Legion had done and gave them all the intel on the layout of the inside that she and Kaidan could remember. She warned them to keep their breathers on as there were giant gaps and the scans did not fully reveal if they had been closed off with internal barriers or were left open.  
  
They were split into teams with many of them grouped to watch the shuttle bays. She didn't want a single one getting away. Give those fleeing a chance to surrender,  if they don't then they were ordered not to let them get to the relay. Their ships were small,  but extremely fast and maneuverable,  she didn't have a doubt that their pilots or VIs could bring down those that thought to escape.  
  
When all the acknowledgments came in she gave the signal to converge. The groups broke off heading to their assigned locations. Already they were engaging ones trying to flee. Already they saw explosions of the shuttles and ships breaking apart by those to stubborn or stupid to surrender to the Spectres.  
  
When the boarding crews landed in the shuttle bays the first thing that happened was Legion hacking the system and locking out all commands for deletion. All system safety protocols were then brought under his control. He locked out commands to the remaining shuttle bays and the docking clamps. No more ships would be leaving that were in the controlled docks. No one over rode data commands from a Geth unless it was another Geth or they allowed it. The rest of them that were on this station wouldn't be going anywhere.  
  


* * *

  
  
The teams started checking in as they finished boarding. They would split up from there,  a single Spectre would stay behind in each of the accessed shuttle bays to make sure no one got any ideas about taking or destroying their ships. They would also be the ones to take out any fleeing mercs or station personnel that got past the other groups.  
  
Feron made sure to stay within their groups sight at all times,  he had only the most basic of shielding and a pistol. He wasn't cut out for nor trained to be a soldier,  but he'd be damned if he was going to let her go through this vestige of a nightmare without him. And for once she didn't argue with him about coming along, as long as he agreed to certain things. One of which was to stick to their group like glue. Legion took it upon himself to always be next to Feron in case of a firefight breaking out.   
  
The first day the group went from room to room, all of them working their areas and heading toward the core of the facility. What used to be the Illusive Man's room. The one he sat in a chair and thought he ruled from. Thought he controlled her from. Thought he could possibly control the Reapers from. All his thoughts were erroneous, he had no control,  he didn't rule anything but his own little speck of the Galaxy. And she made sure he didn't rule that in the end, the Reapers made sure he didn't have control over anything once they got their mind hooks into him. They controlled him, until that one last burst of will where he took control of his own mind back. Where he, just as Saren did, finally understood they were nothing more then puppets.  
  


* * *

  
  
"Shepard, we found another pocket of scientists holed up in one of the labs. There is another Council controlled freighter heading our way. They should be here within the hour to pick up the last batch of prisoners for the day. The supply caches we have of food and ammo should be enough to hold us for another week. Hopefully by that time we will have this place cleared. If not we are going to have to bring in supplies from outside." One of the Spectres left in what Shepard called the "Operation and Prisoner Transport bay informed her. All of them there were Turians. They pooled their available resources since they would not find suitable food anywhere on the station.  
  
"Acknowledged. The teams here are finding enough supplies of food to keep us going. The mercs we are bumping off seem to have a decent supply of heatsinks still." Legion walked up to her and opened his overlay of the station. They still had several more decks to go. None of which had access to the shuttle areas.  
  
"Teams 2 through 4,  I want updates on the lab areas you found. Survivor counts. Prisoner counts. Techs I want updates on the data retrieval."   
  
On and on it went,  lists and updates. Requests for "rescue" teams to help with transport of weak survivors to the shuttle bay for medical assistance. Body count of both mercs that thought they could take out a group of Spectres or scientists that thought they could just walk out because they were there under the orders of the Asari Republics or under the protection of the Dalatrass. They learned the hard way when they were told to stop but kept on going anyway. None of them ever made it more then a few steps. Usually the ones with them froze in their tracks. It was the only thing that kept them alive.  
  
Wrex had sent a delegation of medics and supplies to treat the weak and wounded Krogans. They cooperated with the Spectres in helping to obtain information from the ones being treated, the ones that had the strength left to speak.  
  


* * *

  
  
As the days went by Feron and Kaidan both saw Shepard getting antsy. Rolling her shoulders or pacing. A few times they found her staring off into space looking at something only she could see. Legion had told them he was monitoring her stats, her blood pressure was above normal and her body was releasing higher then normal levels of Cortisol. Her heart and breathing rates would fluctuate as well,  and it wasn't just because of the firefights or the emotions she internalized when she found survivors or those that didn't make it through the horrific procedures.   
  
"She is fighting her memories of this place and what she had found before. She is having episodes of a type of solipsism. It has to be." Feron told them as he watched Shepard stop in front of a terminal and just stare at it.   
  


* * *

  
  
Shepard threw a datapad across the room, it smashed into the wall falling to the floor in now useless pieces. "Where the fuck could she be? We have one more deck to go. Feron,  have you heard from the Broker?"   
  
"No news yet,  Shep. I'll connect again tonight to get an update. The teams guarding the relay haven't encountered anyone trying to leave for about a week now,  the other ships are reporting no more encounters. They think they have flushed the rest of them out of the area. If she isn't on the next deck then maybe she just isn't here anymore. Or possibly she was on one of the first ships out and has been blown into pieces for the last couple of weeks?" He reached up and brushed her hair from her face,  anchoring it behind her ear. "We will get her. Once you set your mind on something,  nothing and no one will stop you from achieving it. The entire galaxy knows this, love. She knew if you ever found out about what she was doing you wouldn't stop until you get her,  yet she was arrogant enough to do so anyway."  
  


* * *

  
  
Something woke Feron from his sleep that night, Shepard was laying curled up next to him in their makeshift tent.  He realized her breathing was off, it wasn't the smooth even breaths that it was normally. These were gasping and ragged, her hand that was laying on his chest kept clenching into a fist and a low whimpering moan was coming from her intermittently. Shepard was having a nightmare.  
  
As carefully and gently as he could he started stroking her arm and back. The same hypnotic tones he had used on her before came from him, "shh,  my love,  everything is alright. It is a dream you are seeing. Relax, breathe. Let the memory go, release the hold it has on you. Breathe. Gentle. Easy. Let a new memory come to you, a better memory. Happy memories to bring you a peaceful sleep." The small tent was filled with tones and light trills, musical sounds that seemed to ease Shepard. Her breathing calmed and her muscles started to relax. He kept the tones light and as her hand relaxed on his chest he let them taper off with a light kiss on her forehead. He laid there awake for a long time,  keeping watch over her,  ready to help her again should the memories of this place once more invade her sleep.  
  


* * *

  
Shepard woke feeling better and more rested then she had since they arrived on the station. The groups would start scouring the last of the accessible decks after she went over the reports from the scouts that she sent out the previous day.   
  
"Shep, there is a private call coming in on the Broker's line." Feron's voice rang out from the other side of the room where he was sitting in front of a bank of computer terminals. He couldn't return to sleep the previous night and as soon as he was sure she wouldn't be having more nightmares eased his way from their bedroll and sat about going over more of the data.  
  
Shepard opened up the terminal,  the scrambled image and digitized voice of the Broker came across the line. "Spectre Shepard, finish what you are doing on Cronos Station. The Dalatrass is no longer there. My people have her on the run, she evaded them and the Salarian Union's military when she tried to land on a Salarian controlled planet. She is running out of places to go, and we are not letting her refuel, she will be out of fuel and dead in space within a few days, we will have her surrounded. She will be ready for pickup."  
  
Shepard heaved out a breath, and closed her eyes,  it was almost done. "Acknowledged Broker. From the other Spectres and myself,  you have our gratitude for helping in this mission."  
  
"It is you that has my thanks. The information and other services you provided to me have more then compensated. Broker out."  
  
Feron enclosed her in his arms,  kissing the top of her head. "Let's finish this. The other Spectres can stay here long enough for them to get everyone off the station and away from it,  while we go and get the bitch."  
  
"Alright, once they are off this station it gets the Shepard Special. Make sure Ta'van and Nijlon have enough of those Garrus and Tali made grenades to blow this place apart, I don't fucking care if it is in Alliance Space, this place should have been turned into space dust years ago."  
  
Feron talked to both of the Spectres and all three of them ran for the elevator,  he would give them the crate of explosives before returning and packing up everything, readying them to leave as soon as she was done on that last deck. All of the other Spectres had begun their final preparations before leaving as well, then helping to load prisoners or survivors.   
  


* * *

  
  
Shepard pried open the door to the last deck. Several of the Spectres went through the door and fanned out in front of her, Kaidan stayed near her as they made their way through the area. She stopped before another door and her breathing changed,  became shorter and more rapid. "Easy Shepard, we're almost done here." Several of the Spectres looked between the two humans and took a firmer grip on their weapons. She nodded and Kaidan hit the button. The doors slid open to reveal a huge cavernous room, they moved their way forward up one set of stairs and heading toward the other when both of them stopped dead in their tracks. "Where the fuck is it? Where is it Kaidan?" Her eyes scanned the overhead area,  he turned in a circle also looking around. His voice as shaky and worried sounding as her own had been. "I - I don't know. The Alliance ... they wouldn't have... they couldn't have taken it. They know the risks."   
  
She looked at him, she read the truth in his eyes,  he really didn't know where the giant heart of the human reaper had gone to. "I went through too much. That thing should have been destroyed. How the fuck did they get it out of here without the Council knowing about it and stopping it?"  
  
They hurried the rest of the way, the few remaining mercs didn't stand a chance,  they blew right through them. Once they reached the upper part of the deck they fanned out again, going room to room. Gathering data,  killing the mercs that were still hold up in the station.   
  
The finally reached the last door. The one that led to a ramp,  the ramp,  the one that went to what used to be the Illusive Man's room. The one that he sat in,  on that stupid fucking chair, and tried to give her orders, couched as suggestions. The one where he set up her and her crew almost getting them killed several times.  
  
The one where she learned about the catalyst being the Citadel, the thoughts of all those helpless people trapped on that station as it was stolen and surrounded by reaper forces, transported to Earth. Her heart skipping several beats as the realization came to her that had she not insisted Kolyat take Thane's body to Kahje and remain there,  he too would have been on that death trap.  
  
Her breathing became erratic, Legion warned them of her hyperventilating, her blood pressure started to skyrocket. Kaidan talked to her,  tried to calm her,  to bring her back to this time. She heard Feron's voice in her comm, telling her he was there, he loved her and that it was alright. All of it was in the past and she could do this,  she could push the memories aside, they had no hold on her. To calm her breathing,  inhale ... hold it for a count of two ... exhale. Repeat. She closed her eyes and just breathed for several minutes.  
  
Then she pushed the button to open the room where she confronted and then mutilated the human that had killed her beloved husband. Sending the bastard's head flying into the holo screen that showed the Anadius supergiant, leaving a dark red bloody streak as it slammed into it and fell to the floor. The sound she had made, more a scream then any type of war cry.  
  
The room was surprisingly empty. The floor still highly damaged from the fight that had taken place. There was, however, a desk and a different chair in the room that hadn't been there before. There were datapads strewn across the top and some were on the floor as if whoever had been here left in a panic. They were gathered up all of them and did another search just to be sure. One of the other Spectres walked toward her, a datapad in one hand and what looked like a head covering the Salarian diplomats and Dalatrass wore in the other. The data pad simply read, "She knows and is on her way. No further assistance will be forthcoming. Breaking all ties,  you are on your own."  
  


* * *

  
  
When they got back to their ships, all of the Spectres but the last two headed straight for the relay. All of the survivors had been moved when that last deck had been cleared out. Since they didn't bother to even try to capture any more of the Eclipse mercs the prisoner transport had left as well.   
  
Once Shepard's ship had reached the relay and made the jump Feron got up and headed toward the facilities where Shepard was currently standing under a spray of decon mist. Legion had told him that her vital signs still were not stable.  
  
"Shep, are you alright in there? I'm here if you need me,  you aren't alone here." Feron told her through the intercom system. "I'll be alright, Feron. I just need a bit of time." Feron leaned his head against the door wishing she would let go more often,  lean on him when she needed it,  not just hold everything inside. Maybe soon,  maybe when this was all over.  
  
"Ta'van sent footage I think you will like seeing, I'll be up in the bridge waiting for you."  
  


* * *

  
  
Shepard watched the screen as footage from the Asari Spectre's hardsuit showed her stuffing enough grenades to blow up the station three times over into every shaft,  every conduit port and behind every station access panel she could get to as she worked her way to her own ship. It showed her setting the timer for 20 minutes then using biotics to throw it toward the back of the shuttle bay while she ducked into her ship. The footage switched over to a surveillance cam from the outside of her ship. She had made it to the relay and paused long enough for the first of the grenades to go off. A ball of orange flashing from the station followed by another then another, she hit the relay as the explosions hit the stash of grenades that Nijlon had left in the center of the station. A giant ball of flame and debris rushing their way toward the relay.  
  
Shepard let out a huge breath,  several tears fell from her eyes as she replayed it again,  then sent a heartfelt thank you to both the asari and the salarian.  
  
"Liara said it would be another day or so before the Dalatrass's ship was out of fuel. Did you want to go to the system they are in or wait for word from her that they have her surrounded."  
  
"Go to the system, let her feel and see us breathing right down her neck. Stay right on her tail. Contact Liara, tell her to move some of her people into position to keep that ship from accessing the relay." She got up and entered her quarters,  collapsing on the bed and closing her eyes. Her breathing deep and even as she entered a meditative state, her heart pouring out everything to Thane and hoping he heard her. That nightmare was finally gone, should have been gone years ago.   
  
She felt hands on her body,  cool scaled fingertips brushing along her arms and waist, lips firm and insistent on her own. A rough tongue licking along the seam and pushing its way into her mouth. The smell of warm sand and mangos tickling her nose as she felt Feron settling on the bed beside her.  
  


* * *

  
  
Their ship exited the mass relay,  Legion notified them of several ships spaced to each side of them that had the Broker's signature ID on them. They flew toward the coordinates the contact had given them as soon as they had come through. Legion told them several more ships had come through the relay right afterward, all with the Spectre transponders. They came through to hound the Dalatrass as well, to circle their prey.  
  


* * *

  
  
Several hours later the small ship came to a sputtering drift as it had been hounded and played with by the dozen Spectres that had followed Shepard. She counted a dozen incoming calls from the ship to her from the pilot and then the Dalatrass herself demanding they cease and give her passage as a Citizen of Sur'Kesh and a member of the Salarian Union. No one answered her,  the other Spectres had received the same messages. Including the Salarian Spectres who were threatened with reprisals for treason.  
  
All of the ships had their weapon system trained on the small vessel as Shepard opened a comm. "Attention crew of the ship listed as, The Thylacine, this is Spectre Shepard. Under authorization of the Citadel Council I am placing Dalatrass Linron and the crew of your vessel under arrest for evading and resisting arrest, conspiring with a known criminal, aiding and abetting a known felon, and for the mass murder and attempted genocide of the Krogan species. Various other pending charges are also outstanding on Dalatrass Linron and will be told to her by the Council and their legal representatives during her intake procedures. If it is not already apparent to you, there are over a dozen ships that are prepared to fire on your vessel should you attempt to resist the boarding of the vehicle and subsequent arrest of all persons on board. Prepare for boarding."  
  
Shepard was followed on board the small vessel by another Spectre, who proceeded to put bonds on everyone then jamming them into the airlock until they reminded Shepard of a can of sardines. Finally they found the Dalatrass, inside one of the tiny rooms off of the engine core, hiding like a cockroach in a lit room. Shepard took great delight in ramming the Dalatrass up against the wall of that tiny room, yanking her arms behind her and placing the Spectre grade cuffs on her before dragging her to the airlock. The Dalatrass's screams of outrage falling on deaf ears.  
  


* * *

  
  
It seemed as if every single Spectre, Diplomat, and to the prisoner's fright,  Krogan, that happened to be on the Citadel had showed up as they were being transferred to the Council's custody. It would take several days for all of them to be processed. When this was announced it almost caused a riot from the Krogan until their Ambassador stepped forward,  he told them that they needed to follow the laws of the Citadel, not give any of them a chance to get through the loopholes. He iterated that this was what Battlemaster Shepard had fought so hard for, to give them the chance to prove that they were worthy to be part of the Council races, if they should act like bloodrage blind fools then they didn't deserve this chance, that it would disgrace everything that she had sacrificed for the Krogan race.   
  
They grumbled,  several slammed their fists together,  but did no more then glare at others.  
  


* * *

  
  
A week passed and finally a trial date was set. They had to wait for an attorney to actually agree to represent the Dalatrass. He stated he was there under duress,  he had no wish to represent her but would do so to the best of his ability. The Council dismissed him. They ended up giving her an ultimatum, an attorney provided by them or represent herself as they would not hold the proceedings any longer and she would not be getting out of the trial on a technicality.  
  
The Asari they assigned her tried to look confident,  but to everyone present they could see her shaking enough to cause a rattling as she held the datapad and controller for the holo screen.  
  
The trial went on and on,  everyday it was being broadcast on the Citadel news channel. Every day more and more people tried to get into the courtroom. It was finally sealed with only those that needed to be present along with the Spectres and their crew members, Council guards and the accused with their representatives.  
  
The months slipped past, Shepard had Kolyat brought back to the Citadel to stay, it caused a bit of a tussle when he found Feron taking care of the shrine the first time when Shepard was at the trial. Then the two of them seemed to come to some sort of agreement over the following week after Shepard notice one of the plants had been pretty damaged from where it had been knocked over during the scuffle and yelled at both of them. After that Feron had started to go to the trial with her and letting Kolyat tend to the small shrine in the morning during his days off,  while he tended to it while Kolyat was working, Shepard tended it every evening.  
  
Finally the day came when the Council adjourned to decide on guilt and punishment. Shepard let out a breath, now it was a waiting game until they called everyone back. They were all pacing outside the chambers when after 2 hours they were called back in.  
  
"Citadel Council finds the accused Dalatrass Linron of the Salarian Union,  guilty of all charges. Her name will be stripped from the Salarian records, her name removed from the bloodline documents. They should not be punished for what she has done if they were not connected with this atrocity. What is left of her personal funds are being transferred to a special fund we have set up for the Krogan survivors of this. It will help to pay for medication and ongoing needs of the children and those adults who are in the most need. It is by order of this Council that in three days time, the defendant will be put to death,  her body is to be sent to Olor, she is unwelcome on Sur'Kesh. Does the defendant have any last words?"  
  
The Dalatrass just stood there,  an arrogant and defiant look on her face. Shepard and Feron stood up to approach the Councilors to finalize the Spectre's report of the proceedings when shouting started. Nijlon and one of the other Salarians,  along with the C-Sec officers had approached the Dalatrass to escort her back to her cell, and for the Spectre's to make arrangements to escort the body when she had started screaming at Nijlon being a traitor to the Salarian people and to her. "You are my bloodline, yet you defy my orders."   
  
There was a scuffle as she fought the hands grabbing for her to get her out of the courtroom when Shepard was shoved to the ground,  a gunshot was heard followed by several others. Shepard looked at where the Dalatrass had been standing instead seeing her body on the ground, then she turned toward Feron who had shoved her to the side,  causing her to fall. He was standing there a hand holding his stomach, she watched as he moved his hand, it was shaking and covered with blood.  
  
"No...No.." Shepard tried to scramble to her feet, their eyes meeting as Feron slowly collapsed to his knees. "Don't do this to me,  not again. I can't lose another husband ... not like this. Feron don't you dare leave me!" She was screaming and crawling toward him as he fell to his side. She turned him over,  his eyes leaking tears, "Feron please... I - I love you,  don't do this. Hang on, please." She looked around at the people standing there staring.  
  
She heard a choking sound and screamed as his eyes met hers one last time and closed.  
  
"FERON!"  
  



	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone that had supported this story with it's ups and downs. I appreciated all your comments and kudos.

* * *

 

 

Shepard sat in the hospital waiting area, she had yet to go home to change her clothing, to wash Feron's blood from her hands. She was sitting there praying to every God and Goddess she could think of when Kolyat came through the doors and ran to her.  
  
"Mom!" He wrapped her in a tight embrace. He may have been pissed at Feron but he loved Shepard as if she was indeed his Mother and he liked Feron, he had been his best friend for quite sometime. "Have you heard anything yet?" Shepard shook her head, not saying anything but holding onto him tightly.  
  
Several hours later Sparatus, Johnson and the Krogan Ambassador approached her. They asked if there was any news then told her what happened afterward.  
  
The Dalatrass had grabbed for Nijlon's firearm, intending to shoot Shepard. Instead by vid accounts Feron had shoved her to the side right before the shot was fired. In turn the Dalatrass herself was fired upon. With 2 shots to the head and 5 to the chest. The two shots to her head came from Sparatus and Johnson themselves. They were leery of what may happen and had been armed the entire time. C-Sec and the other Spectre were the ones that had hit her chest. They had amended her sentence, once the officials on Olor had seen the footage they rescinded their acceptance of the body. She will now be tossed into one of the unmarked coffins and a garbage scow will be taking her along with the rest of the non recyclable Citadel garbage into the Boltzmann system and dumped into the star there.  
  
After a while longer they left her and headed back to finish up the mess that was left with this whole thing. Nijlon came and sat with them for an hour after making sure he was welcome. He wasn't sure if she would still want him around now that she knew he had been from one of her clutches. She told him he was his own person with his own moral code, he had proven to her he was honorable and was welcome to sit with her as long as he wanted. Finally exhaustion hit her and her body shut down. Kolyat stayed by her through the night until one of the doctors approached them. He barely touched her when Shepard jumped up off of the row of chairs in a panic.  
  


* * *

  
  
"I am so ready to get out of here. Use your Spectre authority and bust me out of this hospital, love." Feron grumbled and then pleaded with her when she refused. "Your ass is staying right where it is until the Doctors say otherwise." He let out a sigh and stopped arguing ... for now. He decided to try again tomorrow,  maybe she would get him out of here then.  
  
*~*  
  
"Councilors, it has been my privilege to serve as Spectre for the past 8 years. I have decided to retire. I am moving away from the Citadel and enjoying my family while I can." Her announcement had come as a shock to many on the Citadel, but not to the two Councilors standing in front of her. They knew she was going to be retiring, or at least knew she was going to be taking an extended leave. But with what had happened to her husband she had changed it to retirement. They wished her well and told her she would be welcomed back if she so chose.  
  
Kolyat, Feron and her piled into their small ship, Legion setting a course for Earth. London to be specific. Kolyat had unfinished business. They stood by while Kolyat spoke to Sina, her arms crossed over her chest and adamantly shaking her head no. They saw the way his shoulders drooped fractionally before they once again straightened and he reached out a hand,  passing her a bracelet then turning and walking away. The look on her face and the way her own shoulders sagged before she turned and went back into the classroom was in itself an indication that the relationship was over.  
  
*~*  
  
A quick stop at the Broker's ship to drop off toys for her newborn goddaughter was planned. They were only going to spend the night,  instead they stayed for three days. Feron and Liara talking, while Shepard held Phylasia under Javik's watchful eyes. Kolyat hadn't come out of his room except to eat. She was sure he would snap out of it soon. She didn't see the pair of Asari that had snuck out of his room in the early hours of the morning before they left to head to Kahje.  
  
*~*  
  
She stood staring out over the ocean, the waves crashing on the shore below and the constant rain streamed over her. Feron came up behind her and stood there, holding her, his medical mask protecting his lungs from the moisture. He held her tighter as she talked to Thane, telling him they would meet across the sea but for now she had decided to live again. And hoped he understood.  
  
*~*  
  
The home was finally finished being built, the entire village helped in some way, whether it was doing the actual building or making sure everyone was fed. That night Shepard held a party for everyone, the fishermen brought several of the large fish, she purchased several of the specially bred island hogs and bought enough vegetables to almost cause the six wheeled cart to get stuck in the sand from the weight of them.  
  
She looked over everyone gathered,  her friends and family. She felt at peace with the decision to come here,  to finally settle down.  
  
Feron came over and handed her a beer. He nuzzled her neck and whispered words of love to her. She reached up and stroked his frill, finally returning those same words,  knowing she meant them. Somewhere along the way, she had fallen in love with him,  and it felt right to tell him so.  
  
*~*  
Several years later Kolyat married a drell woman he had met while they were on Kahje and had been corresponding with. Shepard was at first skeptical considering the amount of times she had seen Kolyat bringing women into the small home she had built on the property for him but after seeing them together she relented, and accepted her into the family. A year later she holds her first grandson in her arms,  a beautiful aqua color with dark blue and green strip patterning.  
  
That night Feron holds her while she cries,  finally giving in and telling him that the damage done to her body after the crucible had fired was extensive. They were unable to repair her uterus, she could not have a child of her own. He told her he loved her no matter what and held her through the night,  finally giving into his own grief after she had cried herself to sleep.  
  
*~*  
  
Feron sits beside his wife of the past 50 years, grandchildren and great grandchildren surrounding them,  playing or talking amongst themselves,  the sound of childish laughter carrying on the warm summer breeze. They had finally found a cure for Keprals. It was so simple, a slight modification of a treatment that had been given to humans hundreds of years ago to treat a miner's lung disease. All this time the answer had been there. They just didn't look to other species until one of the new Salarian scientists had decided to look outside of the drell species for any thing that could help. Now his people had hope of survival instead of the dread of extinction.  
  
*~*  
  
Less then five years later, Shepard sits by Feron's bedside, gently stroking his head. The doctors say the stroke left him in a coma, one he wouldn't be able to wake from no matter the advances in medicine. She pulls a worn and tattered black book from a pocket and begins to read.  
  
“Kalahira, mistress of inscrutable depths, I ask forgiveness. Kalahira, whose waves wear down stone and sand--Kalahira, wash the sins from this one, and set him on the distant shore of the infinite spirit.”  
  
She wipes away the tears on her face before her voice continues,  feeling the hand that is now on her shoulder as her son joins her.  
  
“Kalahira, this one's heart is pure, but beset by wickedness and contention. Guide this one to where the traveler never tires, the lover never leaves, the hungry never starve. Guide this one, Kalahira, and he will be a companion to you as he was to me.”  
  
The tears continue as does the prayers through the long night until the sound of the machine changes from a steady beeping to a steady alarm. Shepard leans over and kisses her second husband goodbye for the last time.  
  
*~*  
  
The water closes over his head, he panics until he finally realizes where he is and why, then he relaxes and lets the waves carry him toward the shore. A pair of hands grab him by the arms and pulls him up on to the beach. Feron kneels on the sand,  his lungs coughing out the water he had taken in during his moments of panic. When he is done he looks up, a tall figure outlined in a halo of light cast from the sun at his back was standing over him.  
  
"Well,  shit. You waited for her this entire time haven't you?" Feron coughed one last time then stood up, uncaring of his nudity.  
  
"She is my siha, my wife,  of course I waited. I told her I would." Thane's dual toned voice was calm and steady as he observed Feron,  his wife's second husband. Feron on the other hand was agitated. Shepard was his wife,  had been for well over 50 years,  and it hadn't been long enough.  
  
"She's my wife and I'll be here waiting for her." Feron's voice sounded a bit petulant even to his own ears. Thane only cocked a brow ridge and stared at the other drell.  
  
"Walk with me Feron, we have much to discuss." Ever the reasonable,  calm male he started to walk past Feron, when as usual Feron couldn't keep his mouth shut. "At least she gave me blow jobs,  something you never got. OOPH!!" Feron was on the ground holding his stomach as Thane stood over him.  
  
"Guess, I shouldn't have went there." Feron was still curled in a ball, panting and groaning from the hit he had taken. Thanking the gods it was to his stomach and not to his balls. "Stand up. Keep your mouth shut and walk with me." Thane started down the beach and Feron stood up hobbling a bit to catch up.  
  
*~*  
  
Shepard stood,  her daughter in law in her arms,  as they said goodbye to Kolyat. His body returning to the sea. Her eyes dry,  her tears spent over the last several days. She was growing tired. The years apart from Feron growing heavy in her heart. And now to lose her only son to an accident that was completely avoidable. The tourist had been drunk and somehow thought that trying to shoot bottles after putting them on a fence was a good idea. The doctor's said he had felt no pain it was quick the bullet severing his spinal column in an instant. No parent should have to go through this.  
  
Her last doctor visit confirmed what she thought,  her cybernetics were finally starting to fail. She refused the upgrades. They gave her an estimate of 10 years before the ones keeping her heart beating finally malfunctioned.  
  
*~*  
  
She smiled from the hospital bed,  her family surrounding her. Drell,  human, Asari, Krogan and Prothean. The rest of her crew had passed on over the years,  only Liara,  Grunt, Wrex and Javik remained. And EDI of course. But she never left the small docking station anymore. The Normandy decommissioned, Joker passing on so many years ago from an accidental fall,  left the AI too bereft to do anything more then the basic functions of her programming. She had once asked Shepard if she thought the Human afterlife would accept an AI,  Shepard told her yes. If the Drell afterlife would accept her there was no reason why Joker wouldn't be waiting for her to join him in the Human's.  
  
Her great great grandaughter started to sing a song in praise to Kalahira, she had become a Priestess a short time ago. And Shepard closed her eyes listening to the clear bell like tones of the voice, the soothing words as the sound of the ocean became louder. One heartbeat,  then a short pause. Another beat a pause and a skip of a beat. The pauses and skips coming more frequent until finally she heard a constant tone and felt the cool waters flow over her.  
  
Several pairs of hand grab at her and pull her up. Her eyes open as she feels them brush aside her hair. Kolyat stands before her, looking as he did in his youth, smiling and welcoming her. Kissing her cheek before telling her he loved her but had to go, his wife was expecting him at home soon and he didn't want to keep her waiting. Her eyes are drawn to the green face of her husband, so handsome and vibrant. Her choked cries coming from a constricted throat as she flings herself into his arms holding him tightly. Their hands brushing on each others faces,  their tears mingled as their lips met in their first kiss in almost 75 years.  
  
She felt a  hand on her back. Lifting her lips from Thane's and turning her head to see Feron standing there,  a smile on his face. A laugh as she flung herself into his arms and proceeded to kiss him as well.  
  
"The two of us have come to an understanding, Siha." Thane's voice washed over her, his voice still causing her body to tingle and her heart to speed up. "Are you ready to come home now, Shep? The two of us have waited for you long enough." She looked between the two of them, realization coming upon her at what they meant. She gave them a hesitant smile and took their hands, walking between them into the sunset and toward her new home.

 

 

*~* Fin *~*

**Author's Note:**

> Well, that's the first chapter. Hope someone will like the story. This one will not be updated as often as my other story. As always any comments and criticisms are welcome.
> 
> No beta reader and I do my own editing so please excuse grammar, spelling and any other mistakes you may find. I have a habit of trying to edit things and post them at odd hours in the morning.


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